PRESTON, MAY WILSON

born Aug. 11, 1873, New York, N.Y., U.S. died May 18, 1949, East Hampton, Long Island, N.Y. ne May Wilson American illustrator associated with the Ashcan School, who was known for the authenticity she brought to her work for the major magazines of the early 20th century. May Wilson early displayed marked artistic ability. In 1889, when she was barely out of high school, she helped found the Women's Art Club (later the National Association of Women Artists). She attended Oberlin (Ohio) College (1889-92) but left before graduating in order to enroll in the Art Students' League in New York City. She remained at the Art Students' League for more than four years, under the tutelage of such artists as Robert Henri, John H. Twachtman, and William Merritt Chase, and her skills developed rapidly. In 1899 Wilson traveled to Paris to study under James A.M. Whistler. Her career as a professional illustrator began in 1900, and by the next year she was selling illustrations to such periodicals as Harper's Bazaar. The quarters she shared with two other artists at the Sherwood Studios became a popular gathering place for artists and writers. In 1903 she married James M. Preston, a painter and associate of Henri, John Sloan, George Luks, and others in the so-called Ashcan School of urban realism. May Preston exhibited frequently with them and with the more formally organized Society of Illustrators, of which she was the first, and for many years only, woman member. Preston was represented at the famous Armory Show of 1913. Her commercial illustrations appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, the Woman's Home Companion, the Delineator, McClure's, and other leading magazines. The failing market for her work during the Great Depression, together with a skin infection that made work difficult, largely ended her career.