(American, 1872 - 1970)

Born in Cincinnati in 1872, Louise Zaring (American, 1872 - 1970) was a renowned American impressionist painter, known for her vivid colors and bold impasto.

The artist studied in Greencastle, Indiana, where she met and briefly worked with fellow native Cincinnati artists John Henry Twatchman and William Forsyth, and she exhibited at the Hoosier Salon.  Several of her paintings show the influence of Twachtman's impressionist style, although her later paintings are more broad and painterly.

Moving to New York, Zaring continued her studies at the Art Students League, and then, having gained sufficient grounding, she continued on to Paris where she studied at the Academie Vitti under Luc-Olivier Merson and the American Frederick MacMonnies.  Zaring arrived in Paris at an exhilarating time in artistic history.  In addition to Merson and Mac Monnies, she received guidance from Edmond Francois Aman-Jean, Raphael Collin, Julian Dupre, and the Spaniard Leon Eduardo Garrido. She was elected to membership of the Paris Women's Art Association at a young age.

Upon her return to America, she became a member of the Provincetown Art Association where she studied with Charles Hawthorne.  Her work with Hawthorne, together with her associate membership in the North Shore Art Association in 1925 and 1926 were important influences on Zaring's style and choice of subject matter. Hawthorne's influence may be seen in her portraits such as Afternoon at the Beach and The Blue Ribbon, with their light-infused, sketchy portraiture.  Her views of Provincetown, Gloucester, and other places along the North Shore and Cape Cod share many similarities with the work of her contemporaries such as Jane Peterson, Gerrit Beneker, and Ambrose Webster.

Zaring was known to be a generous woman both with her art and with her time, giving paintings to friends and instructing in art.  She dedicated the latter part of her life to teaching oil painting and sculpture at the Miami Art League, which she co-founded in 1930 in Miami, Florida.  This entity received her personal collection of paintings upon her death.

Throughout the 1900s until the 1930s, her works were exhibited including at the Richmond Art Institute of Indianapolis, where she was awarded prizes in 1900 and in 1919, and in Paris at the Academie Vitti.  She exhibited at the Provincetown Art Association in 1917, the Indiana Society of Artists and the Washington Art Club.