Marie de Hoa LeBlanc was one of the most prolific of the early Newcomb designers. Born in 1874 into an old Creole family, LeBlanc first attended Newcomb College at age 20. With the blessing of the family, she and her sister Emilie (also a prolific artist) rode the streetcar from their French Quarter home to Newcomb's Washington Avenue campus.

The sisters made yearly trips to study art, often in Europe; they also traveled to many Asian countries. In between these trips, Marie de Hoa LeBlanc worked as a Newcomb Pottery craftsperson (always called a craftsman), a painter, and a teacher within New Orleans public, private, and vocational schools. She won many awards for her efforts. In 1902, for example...