Biography from Longfellow National Historic Site
Mary King Longfellow was the niece of the 19th-century poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. She studied under Ross Turner and William Morris Hunt in Boston.
Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, and spent much of her life in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was also a world traveler in the United States and abroad.
She was greatly influenced by Japanese art and culture, especially from the influence of her cousin, Charles Appleton Longfellow who lived in Japan from 1871 to 1873. He purchased thousands of works of fine art, decorative art, and textiles, and gave many items to his family and friends.
Mary Longfellow’s life is documented in her journals, letters, and her artwork is at the Longfellow House Museum in Cambridge.
