Late 19th century landscape of a sapling on the side of a dirt road in the hills by Mary Cable Butler. Signed M. Butler and “The Cone Tree” inscribed on the back. as well as some prices and indeterminate writing. Original frame and painting which appear to me at least a 100 years old. which would make this an early work of Butler’s. Age and darkening. Please see pics.

33” × 26” x 2”

Mary Cable Butler was born in Philadelphia in 1865 and is most noted for her depictions of mountains and the sea.  She was an important figure in the Philadelphia art world until her death in 1946.

Butler attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art), and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1896 to 1902, where she was said to have "discovered" the American landscape under her instructors, William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri.  Later, she went to Center Bridge, New Hope, Pennsylvania to study under Edward Redfield, the most celebrated American landscape painter of his time.  She then traveled to Paris, where she worked in the ateliers of Courtois, Prinet and Girardot.