Lot 242: Ludmilla Welch(1867-1925) 2 sided oil on board 'Mi

Ludmilla Welch(1867-1925) 2 sided oil on board 'Mission Canyon Bridge 5.5" x 7.75" and verso 'Mount Tamalpais" 5.25" X 8.75". Painted aquired from the Pilat family. Gallery labels attached. (pictured) A landscape painter, she was born in Ossining, New York on April 1, 1867 into a large Austrian family. Ludmilla's father, Carl Pilat, w as a member of the Austrian army who had decamped to the U.S. for political reasons. Located in the beautiful Hudson River area, the Pilat home was an artistic milieu where the young girl was exposed to art, music, and literature. A romance blossomed between her and Thad Welch, a boarder in their home, and at age 16 she married the 39 year old artist. After a few years in New York, Boston, and a visit to the Worlds Fair in Chicago, she came with her husband to California in 1893. Pasadena was their home for a year until moving north to Marin County. The couple lived in a rustic cabin in the hills of Marin where, under the tutelage of her husband, she became a highly competent painter of quiet, bucolic scenes. Due to Thads health they were forced to leave Marin County for a more moderate climate. Moving to Santa Barbara, the couple spent their remaining years there. Mrs. Welch died on a train near New Orleans on May 17, 1925. In: Santa Barbara Historical Society; Oakland Museum; CHS; Sonoma Co. (CA) Museum.