Clara J. Taggert McChesney was born in Brownsville, CA in 1860. The McChesney family settled in Oakland when Clara was a child. Her father, Joseph B. McChesney, was principal of Oakland High School.

Opting for an art career, she studied in San Francisco at the School of Design under Virgil Williams, in New York at Gotham Art School under Mowbray and Beckwith, and in Paris at Académie Colarossi under Girardot and Courtois. Although most of her career was spent in NYC, she made trips to California to visit the family. She died in London, England on Aug. 6, 1928. Working in watercolor and oil, her subjects often include children.

Member: National Arts Club (New York City); Carmel AA; NY WC Club; American WC Society; Lyceum Club

Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Women Artists in America (Collins & Opitz); Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters & Sculptors; Who's Who in America; Artist of the American West (Doris Dawby); Artist in California (R.L. Bernier, 1916); American Art Annual 1900-07; NY Times, 8-7-1928 (obit); Art Digest, Aug. 1928 (obit).

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