1312 South Sixth Street (Patty Prather Thum)
Residence of Patty Prather Thum from 1904-1917
Patty Thum was known for her paintings of flowers, especially roses, but she was also a talented landscape and portrait artist. She is one of the city’s earliest professional woman artists. Born in Louisville in 1853, Patty was the eldest child of Louisa Miller and Mandeville Thum, a doctor with a practice on Jefferson Street. Patty was 9 years old when her father died in 1862 in the Civil War. Her mother Louisa never remarried and ensured her sons and daughters all attended college. Patty attended the Louisville Girls’ High School School until 1869 whne at the age of 16, she left home and traveled north to New York to study art at Vassar College, established in 1861 to “accomplish for young women what our colleges are accomplishing for young men.”
Patty returned home to Louisville in 1874 and established her first studio in the family’s home at Floyd and Jacob Streets, but also traveled to New York several times in the 1880s and 90s and studied under William Merritt Chase and Thomas Eakins, a renowned and controversial artist who allowed female students to study from nude models. She exhibited work at Louisville's Southern Exposition (1883-1887), which helped launch her career. She also exhibited at the 1886 and 1889 National Academy of Design in New York City, the 1893 Columbia’s Exposition in Chicago, and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
Organizations such as the Woman’s Club of Louisville provided important networks and exhibition opportunities for female artists. The Cub supported the growth of arts in the city by hosting exhibits and programs such as “Do We Appreciate and Encourage Art in Louisville?” Patty Thum was a member of the Club and served as the Chair for the Committee on Art in 1910. Patty was also one of the founders and early presidents of the Louisville Art League founded in the 1890s. Patty publicly declared support of women's suffrage in 1914. In March 1915, she donated paintings to an art exhibit, the proceeds of which supported the Louisville Suffrage Association located on South 4th Street.
Thum remained active in the Louisville Art scene throughout her lifetime. She supported the Louisville School of Art founded in 1920. She held annual exhibits of her work at local galleries and in her studio. Her last solo exhibit was in February 1926; she announced her retirement from art in August of 1926 and died that September.