Mary Louise McLaughlin

Mary Louise McLaughlin
portrait of McLaughlin c. 1890 by Clara Chipman Newton
Born	Mary Louise McLaughlin (1847-09-29)September 29, 1847 Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died	January 13, 1939(1939-01-13) (aged 91)
Nationality	American
Known for	China painting studio pottery

Mary Louise McLaughlin (September 29, 1847 – January 19, 1939) was an American ceramic painter and studio potter from Cincinnati, Ohio, and the main local competitor of Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, who founded Rookwood Pottery. Like Storer, McLaughlin was one of the originators of the art pottery movement that swept the United States.

Mary Louise McLaughlin was born to a wealthy family of Cincinnati, her father being the owner of a successful dry goods company in the city. Her older brother was architect James W. McLaughlin. Showing an artistic ability at a young age, McLaughlin did not take formal art lessons until 1871 at a private school for girls. At Cincinnati's School of Design in 1874, McLaughlin took a china painting class offered by a Mr. Benn Pitman. During an exhibition by Maria Longworth Nichols Storer at the school that same year, McLaughlin's interest in painting china ripened.

In 1875 the two women's works were featured at The Centennial Tea Party to critical acclaim, and in 1876 both women had exhibitions at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While at the exhibition McLaughlin was especially taken by the works presented by Haviland & Co. of France, who showcased pieces that featured paintings using the underglaze technique. Since this was a unique advancement at the time, McLaughlin returned to Cincinnati with the determination to figure out the secret to their method. She also wrote a book on china painting upon her return which sold many copies (China Painting: A Practical Manual for the Use of Amateurs in the Decoration of Hard Porcelain). McLaughlin sold more of her works at the exhibition than Storer did, thus starting a competition of sorts between the two women.