She specialized in still life subjects, some of which were reproduced as chromolithographs; Spencer also produced miniatures and portraits. Mary Nay Spencer was born in 1835 in Springfield, Ohio, and studied with C.T. Webber in Springfield, as well as in Cincinnati. She taught oil painting at the Springfield Female Seminary until 1860, and worked as a portrait colorist for Hoag and Quick in Cincinnati.

Exhibited:

Cincinnati; Boston AC, 1882; NAD, 1883; World Columbian Expo, Chicago, 1893; Trans-Mississippi Expo, Omaha, 1898; Pan-Pacific Expo, San Francisco, 1915

Member:

Cincinnati Women's AC (founder; first pres., 1892-98)

Work:

Cincinnati Art Museum

Sources:

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