Lady Mary Love

portrait of Lady Mary Love

Early 19th-Century Lithography by a Woman Artist in British North America

Lady Mary Heaviside Love, (1806 – 1874), also known as Lady Mary Love or Lady Love was an artist from British North America, active from 1825 to 1841. Probably born in St. John, New Brunswick. We know so very little about her. She is often credited with being the first Canadian artist to make lithographs drawn on stone in Canada.

In 1825 she married Lieutenant-Colonel James Frederick Love, in New Brunswick. who was stationed at various posts before been arriving in New Brunswick, where he and Lady Love resided from 1825 – 1830. It was after her marriage that she really began to develop her skill in drawing and watercolour.

In 1825 she married Lieutenant-Colonel James Frederick Love, in New Brunswick. who was stationed at various posts before arriving in New Brunswick, where he and Lady Love resided from 1825 – 1830. It was after her marriage that she really began to develop her skill in drawing and watercolour.

In the early 1830s, Lady Mary Love quietly made history. We know that in 1830, two of her sketches, were lithographed by the John B. Pendleton of Boston, Massachusetts: ‘A view near St. Andrews, New Brunswick (Chamcook)’ and ‘A view on the St. Croix River, New Brunswick.’ Both sketches were signed ‘Drawn on stone by M. Love’. ‘Drawn on stone’ seems to indicate that Lady Love herself created the lithographic drawing. If true, this would have been a very uncommon credit for any artist in 1830, let alone a woman. Drawn-on-stone does not mean she had to actually draw on the stone, though it’s possible she did. In all likelihood, she drew on specially prepared paper which the lithographers would then transfer to the stone. The lithograph would also have been in black, coloured lithographs were expensive and time-consuming. Lithographs were often coloured by hand, either by the lithographers or the artist.

In 1856 her husband was knighted, making her Lady Love. The Loves travelled to London where James Love died in 1866. Lady Mary Love remained in London where she died in 1874.

Though Mary Love’s life is lightly documented, these signed lithographs, and their significance in Canadian art history, ensure she is remembered. They offer rare insight into both early lithographic practice and the contributions of women artists in the 19th century.

‘New Government House, Frederickton, [sic] N.B.’ by Lady Mary (Heaviside) Love, hand coloured lithograph by Louis Haghe of Day and Haghe Lithographers, London, 1831, from The British Dominions in North America; or a Topographical and Statistical Description of the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, and Cape Breton by Joseph Bouchette, published by Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London, 1831.

How the Drawing Gets on Stone

In early lithography there were two common ways for an artist’s drawing to end up on the stone.

1. Direct drawing

The artist worked right on the polished stone with a grease crayon or ink. If a print says ‘Drawn on stone by…’ it usually implies this hands-on method.

2. Transfer paper method

By the 1820s and 1830s, artists could also draw on specially prepared transfer paper with lithographic ink. The sheet was then laid face-down on the stone and transferred (like a press-on image). This had practical advantages.

• The artist didn’t need to be in the lithographer’s shop

• The stone surface was preserved for the printing stage

• The drawing could be transported safely, this was useful if Lady Love was working in New Brunswick and the printing happened in Boston.

If the drawing originated with her hand on the transfer paper, she would still be credited as ‘Drawn on stone’ because it was her drawing that created the printable surface. The transfer paper was just an intermediary.