Muriel Hannah

Muriel Hannah (died 1969) was an American artist. Born in England, she spent much of her life in Alaska. She was known for her portraits of Native Alaskans and an illustrated map of Alaska that she painted while in the employ of Northern Consolidated Airlines.

Born in Yorkshire, Hannah moved to the United States at a young age and studied at the Museum School in Boston and the Art Students League of New York. She visited Alaska in 1941 at the invitation of a friend, returning in 1947. During her trips, she drew landscapes and portraits of the Alaska Native people and, in 1949, was commissioned by Ray Petersen and his firm, Northern Consolidated Airlines, to paint a mural map of Alaska. This map was displayed in several museums and the Department of the Interior Building before being returned to Alaska in the 1950s, by which point Hannah herself had also taken up residence in the territory. She continued working for Northern in their publicity department, where she continued to draw portraits. Some of these were re-produced in calendars published by the airline.

Hannah died in 1969 while on vacation in Jamaica with her sister. A scholarship for Alaska Native art students at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, was set up in her honor.

Early life and education Muriel Hannah was born in Yorkshire, England. Her father, Randolph Hannah, was also an artist; he worked with watercolors and died when Hannah was young. She continued her studies at the League, and eventually ended up doing portraits at the Bremerton Naval Yard in the state of Washington. By 1933 she had made her way to California, where she continued to work as an artist. In New Orleans, she created portraits and costumes at Mardi Gras parades and balls.

Hannah first came to Alaska on the invitation of a friend; she was invited by Charles J. Johnson, of the Goodnews Bay Mining Co., to visit Platinum, a mining town on Goodnews Bay. She flew with pilot Ray Petersen; it was Hannah's first time flying. She stayed in the Alaskan town for three months and did watercolors of the surrounding landscapes. To prepare, she took flights across Alaska, sketching the scenery beneath her to use as a reference. and a portrait of Ernest Gruening in the bottom right corner. The mural initially took her eleven months to finish

Upon seeing the map, the Northern Consolidated executives thought that it belonged in a museum rather than their offices, and the map was sent on a tour of the United States, arranged by the General Federation of Women's Clubs. and the North Dakota Agricultural College

Employment with airlines and further exhibitions Once the map was initially finished, Hannah continued working for Northern Consolidated Airlines in their publicity department. and in 1962, she finished a commission for Muktuk Marston for an illustrated map with a picture that, in Marston's words, "combines man's greatest desires – a good looking girl on a King Crab".

By 1964, Hannah had become the assistant to their public relations director at Northern. 1965, 1966, and 1967. Her work was also displayed at the 1967 Alaska Festival of Native Arts, the Alaska 67 Centennial Art Exhibit, the 1968 opening of the Anchorage Fine Arts Museum, and she had two paintings selected for the Alaska Purchase Centennial Juried Art Show in Fairbanks. Sponsored by the Anchorage branch of the Quota Club, the exhibit had both finished and unfinished examples of Hannah's art.

A scholarship for Native Alaskan art students at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, named after Hannah, was established after her death. Initial funds came from the sale of prints the scholarship committee purchased from Hannah's estate and prints of her calendars, with the permission of Ray Peterson.

Art Hannah worked primarily with pastels, watercolors, and oil paints,

In addition to her drawings, Hannah also worked as an interior decorator and made theatre costumes.

Several of her paintings, along with some by Harvey Goodale, were destroyed in a fire in Fairbanks before 1972; copies were preserved in the Alaska Transportation Museum.