Katharine Lane Weems, 1899-1989

An eminent animal sculptor, Katharine Ward (Lane) Weems was born in Boston on February 22, 1899, the only child of Gardiner Martin and Emma Louise (Gildersleeve) Lane. She was named for her father's sister, who had died as a young woman.

Gardiner Martin Lane (GML) was born in 1859, the son of Frances Eliza (Gardiner) and George Martin Lane, a classics professor at Harvard College. GML graduated from Harvard in 1881 and worked for Lee, Higginson and Company, a banking house, for several years. He was then an assistant, and later vice-president, to Charles Francis Adams, president of the Union Pacific Railway Company. In 1892, GML became a partner in Lee, Higginson and Company. He was a director of several railroad and financial companies and served as treasurer of Boston charitable funds. In 1907 he became president of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).

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