Agnes Tait (1894–1981) was an American painter, pen-and-ink artist, lithographer, book illustrator, muralist and dancer. Early life Born in Greenwich Village in New York City, Agnes Tait was the second and last child of Anita Innocentia McCarthy and John C. Tait. Her mother was of Irish Catholic descent and travelled to New York from Cuba. Her father emigrated to America from Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and owned a small roofing business. After graduating from grammar school, Tait secretly applied to the National Academy of Design much to her parents' surprise, who were happy at the prospect of a free tuition. She completed the mandatory antique drawing class from 1908 to 1910 and the life painting class from 1910 to 1916. As part of her studies, she attended the life drawing course taught by Leon Kroll. During her studies she earned multiple awards for her work, including the Hollgarten prizes for painting ($10) and composition ($30), a prize for pastel drawing ($10) as well as the Suydam bronze medal for life drawing. After graduating, she returned to Greenwich Village to take care of her terminally ill father. Determined to succeed as both a painter and a dancer, she painted during the day and danced in a chorus line at night, maintaining this lifestyle until the death of her father in 1919. Career Tait began exhibiting at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1915 and continued in the annuals at the National Academy of Design, the Corcoran, and the Pennsylvania Academy in the early 1930s. Her determination to succeed in her artistic endeavors prompted her to study in Paris. In 1927, Tait spent several weeks in a studio in Paris, where she completed a lithography course at the École des Beaux-Arts, before returning to New York City to rent her own studio in King Street in Lower Manhattan. Confident in her talent as an artist, she contacted Valentine Dudensing of the Dudensing Gallery, who asked her to "come in with her portfolio." Impressed with her work, he organized an exhibit showcasing her paintings and those of two other fellow artists, Jo Cantine and Jean Paul Slusser. Her painting Melancholia was featured in a review in the New York Times, which noted the influence of the esthetic ideas of the Pre-Raphaelite school on her work. Tait's The Bride was selected for the First Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture at the