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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Artist Grace Martin Frame Taylor (February 11, 1903-October 1, 1995) was born in Morgantown. A painter, printmaker, collage artist, and art educator, she studied at West Virginia University and then at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She was a cousin of artist Blanche Lazzell, at whose invitation she visited Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1929. She returned there frequently during the summer months for the next two decades, participating in the exhibits of the Provincetown printmakers and continuing her studies under Lazzell, Fritz Pfeiffer, and Hans Hofmann.
In addition to producing an immense body of paintings, prints, and collages in a variety of realist and abstract styles, Taylor enjoyed a lengthy career as teacher and administrator at the Mason College of Fine Arts and Music in Charleston. Beginning as an instructor in 1929, she eventually rose to the presidency of the college. When the Mason College merged with Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in 1956, she returned to the faculty until her retirement in 1968.
Taylor was a founding member of the Allied Artists of West Virginia and the group’s president from 1932 to 1934. She was also a founder of the American Color Print Society. Her work has been exhibited at the National Museum of Women and the Arts, at West Virginia University, and at the West Virginia State Museum. The last two institutions own extensive collections of her work. Taylor died in Charleston.
Written by John A. Cuthbert
Cuthbert, John A. Early Art and Artists in West Virginia. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2000.