Information Violet Oakley (1874-1961) was America's greatest woman muralist in early 20th century. She became famous for her murals in 1905 in the Pennsylvania state capital. That success led to many commissions and an international reputation as a painter of moral and idealistic subjects. She painted the first delegates of the League of Nations and the United Nations, and published illustrated books in support of world peace, disarmament and human rights. And then there are the paintings of her youth. Violet Oakley had a confidence and independence in her early paintings that allowed her to follow her heart. As she travelled and studied in America and Europe, she exhuberantly painted portraits and landscapes in a spontaneous, impressionistic style. The result was a body of work of jewel-like brilliance. In 1896 her father's illness forced Violet to concentrate on illustration. And the technique she developed as an illustrator grew into the mural style that made her famous.

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