Ella Miriam Wood (American/Birmingham, 1888-1976, active Newcomb College, 1905-8 and 1910-13), "Newcomb Chapel", oil on canvasboard, conjoined monogrammed "E.M.W." lower right, 9 in. x 12 in. E6000-8000 Note: Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Ella Miriam Wood entered the Newcomb College in 1905 and was awarded the Estelle Holley Memorial Medal for skill in watercolor painting in 1907. Upon graduating, Wood attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and studied with William Merrit Chase in New York City. Upon returning to the city, she did post graduate work at Newcomb College as well as teaching watercolor classes. An active member of the Arts and Crafts Club and the Art Association of New Orleans, Wood became recognized for her portrait paintings and murals. This charming painting of the picturesque Newcomb Chapel on Broadway Street was most likely completed during her tenure at the school. Ref: Jessie Poesch, Newcomb Pottery & Crafts: An Educational Enterprise for Woman, 1895-1940, Schiffer Publishing Co., 2003, p. 297.