Mary Way (1769November 1833) was an American painter, known for her portrait miniatures. She, along with her sister Elizabeth Way Champlain, was among the first women to work as a professional artist in the United States. Background Portrait miniatures were popular in the colonial period and early Republic for about a century, from 1750 to 1850. John Singleton Copley was one of the more prominent American painters to produce miniatures. The genre's historical roots extend back to medieval illuminated manuscripts, in which small-scale, detailed artistry was of paramount importance; and the portrait medal, popular in ancient times and the Renaissance, which Johnson describes as the "first small portable likeness[]". The medium in which Way primarily worked—watercolor on ivory—was first developed by Rosalba Carriera, a 17th-century Italian miniaturist. As might be expected, miniature painting in this technique was immensely difficult. The small size alone presented formidable challenges. Moreover, ivory does not retain paint well, which meant that "the tiniest error was usually irreversible". Life Way began her artistic career in New London, Connecticut, where she was born. Her father Ebenezer was a merchant; her mother Mary (née Tabor) died relatively early in Way's life. Her cousin Charles Holt ran a local newspaper in which he advertised Way's work. Her sister Elizabeth ("Betsey") Champlain (1771–1825) and niece Eliza Champlain (1797–1825) also worked in miniatures. Although this has not been documented, many scholars note that it is likely Way learned painting at a "female academy" in Connecticut. (An 1833 obituary claims, however, that Way was "self-taught".) Huber suggests that this academy was the Lucy Carew School in Norwich, which taught needlework among other subjects. Female academies in early America taught literacy and numeracy, but as their students "were being schooled to be homemakers and matrons in a polite society", academies focused on the arts to the exclusion of more advanced academic subjects. In 1809, Way herself had established a school for women in New London, in which she taught painting and other subjects. She had advertised as a teacher as early as 1796. In 1811, she moved to New York City after her work had begun to attract notice. Despite gaining some recognition, she was poor for much of her life. Way was forced to abandon her painting career in 1818 when she became blind from glaucoma. Around that time, she left New York for New London to be with her family. Art