Mary Hiester Reid

Mary Augusta Hiester Reid (1854–1921) was an American-born Canadian painter and teacher. She was one of the first women to be elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA).

Reid was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on April 10, 1854. Reid studied painting at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where she met her husband Canadian artist George Agnew Reid (1860–1947). During the 19th and early 20th century, at the time of her schooling, women were rarely allowed to pursue art as a career. If they attended art school, they were often not taught the same material as men. Although they both attended art school, Mary was restricted to traditionally feminine themes, and in turn became known for her flower paintings. Despite the expectations for women to remain at home and care for children, Mary rose to prominence and became one of the first women to have her work included into the National Gallery of Canada. Reid exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to producing pieces that were widely admired, Mary became financially successful and received significant reviews in the Toronto press. The same year she was elected an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, one of the first women elected.

A retrospective show of Reid's work held in 1922 at the Art Gallery of Toronto, following her death on October 4, 1921, at the Art Gallery of Toronto, and included over 300 of her works. She was the first woman to posthumously receive a solo retrospective exhibition at that institution. Mary Hiester Reid's work was rediscovered in 2020 (CBC Radio suggested 21 June, 2020) when the Art Gallery of Ontario announced an exhibition of her work and a biography by Molly Peacock was completed for publication by ECW Press in 2021.