09/22/2026
It’s 2D Tuesday! 🖼️
Sharing works from the Chesterwood Collection of paintings & drawings!
This pastel portrait of “Mary Lawton” was made by Daniel Chester French.
Object #:
NT 69.38.671
Title:
Mary:
Pastel Portrait of Mary Lawton by Daniel Chester French.
A successful stage and film actress, Mary Lawton was a close friend of the French family. She visited Chesterwood often and regaled them in dramatic fashion. In October 1920 Margaret French wrote to her fiancé William Penn Cresson that “Mary arrived [at Chesterwood] looking rather the worse for wear, but full of anecdotes and stories, as usual.” Lawton posed for French’s Alma Mater (1900-03; Columbia University, NYC) and the Marshall Field Memorial (1908-12; Chicago, IL).
In an interview published in the New York Sun, French highly praised Lawton’s hands and arms.
In 1902, French sculpted a portrait of Lawton, which is also part of the Chesterwood Collection.
French often photographed her in the Studio and garden, sometimes in dramatic poses.
In September, 1907, French wrote to assistant-turned-friend, Evelyn Beatrice Longman, that he wanted her to see his summer’s work, which included “painting and pastelling, too.” He mentions that “Miss Lawton is here for a week, just back from Switzerland, and we are going to begin a portrait of her tomorrow. She goes down to New York next week to begin her rehearsals of “Tess.” She seems well and confident of success.” Lawton was known for her portrayal of Muriel Glayde in the movie John Glayde’s Honor (1915). On stage, she played title roles in Tess of the D’Urbervilles in Boston, The Duel in Chicago, and Olive Latimer’s Husband in New York. From 1912 to 1922 she played numerous roles in shows on Broadway in New York
