Ethel Mars (September 19, 1876 – March 23, 1959) was an American woodblock print artist, known for her white-line woodcut prints, also known as Provincetown Prints, and a children's book illustrator. She had a lifelong relationship with fellow artist Maud Hunt Squire, with whom she lived in Paris and Provincetown, Massachusetts. Early life and education Ethel Mars was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1876 to Adelia and Alonzo Mars, a railroad clerk. During most of her childhood, Mars and her parents lived with her mother's parents. She began creating art as a young girl, for which she won prizes at the Illinois State Fair. Mars attended socials and church teas and was known to have a "voice of wonderful power and sweetness." After the McClernand Grade School, Mars secured a scholarship and attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati beginning in 1892. While there, she met and began a lifelong relationship with Maud Hunt Squire (1873–1954), living mostly in Europe. Lewis Henry Meakin and Frank Duveneck provided instruction, which included drawing, illustration, and painting. Edna Boies Hopkins was a friend of both Squire and Mars throughout their lives. Career Mars began working as a book illustrator in New York, as did Squire, after she completed her training in Cincinnati. She continued to win prizes at the Illinois State Fairs during her trips home to visit her parents. Mars and Squire traveled to Europe beginning in 1900. Both Mars and Squire created illustrations for Children of Our Town by Carolyn Wells and Adventures of Ulysses by Charles Lamb in 1902. During one of their trips, they visited Munich in 1904, where Mars learned to make color woodcut prints. About 1905, Mars made the print of a Paris street scene, Untitled (Woman at Shop Window), the "decoratively patterned" work is similar to the intimist works of Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard. Along with the wave of artist moving to France at the turn of the century, the pair moved to Paris in 1906. Mars made chalk drawings, paintings, and woodblock prints. Her work is described as follows, "in landscapes, portraits, domestic vignettes, street and café scenes, Mars's work is distinguished by its flat forms, bold simplicity of design and lively color." Mars shared her woodblock printmaking techniques with visiting American artists. She regularly exhibited and juried shows at Salon d'Automne, where she was an elected member. She was also a member of Société