May Mott-Smith (1879-1952)

Painter, sculptor, craftsman. Born in Honolulu, HI on March 17, 1879 into an artistic family. Mays father, an Englishman, went to Honolulu after the Gold Rush in California and designed the silver crown worn by Lunalio, the last of the royal line of Hawaii. Her brother, Harold Meade Mott-Smith, became an artist of note in the Islands. May studied art in Paris at Académie Colarossi and at Mark Hopkins Institute in San Francisco. She mainly worked in San Francisco but had studios in Los Angeles and New York. Her married names were Small, Cunningham and Bird. She died on June 5, 1952. Member: SFAA; Calif. Art Club; Calif. Society of Miniature Painters; Calif. Sculptors Society; National Academy of Women Painters & Sculptors.