Lotz House

Matilda Lotz, Artist

Matilda Lotz turned six years old the day before the Battle of Franklin.  As a girl she scribbled line drawings in the dirt of her farm animals and on rare occasions when they were presented a scrap of paper, she would take a small bit of cooled coal from the fireplace and draw childish figures. She and her family took shelter in the basement of The Carter House located across the street during the battle in an attempt to survive the bullets and cannons and fire of the enemy. After the battle they walked 110 steps back to their home stepping over the soldiers who were wounded or killed. Her home was turned into a hospital to care for the wounded. In 1874, she began a six-year course of study under Virgil Williams at the school of design in San Francisco.  She continued her art study in Paris, France where she received an honorable mention for her work exhibited at the Paris Salon and was awarded two gold medals by the Paris Academy of Painting (the first woman ever to be honored by the Academy). Today, Matilda Lotz is recognized as one of California’s premiere early female artists and her work is highly prized and sought after. The Lotz House has six of Matilda’s original oil paintings on display including “Sheep at Rest,” “Donkey,” “Wolf,” “Harry Wilkes,” “The Herd” and “Black Sheep.”