Sarah Mabel Pugh

A Biography

Sarah Mabel Pugh (known as Mabel Pugh) was born November 2, 1891 in Morrisville, North Carolina.  Her father was James M. Pugh, merchant and postmaster.  She was a teacher, artist, magazine illustrator, author, and composer.  She studied at Peace College (then Peace Institute) from 1907 until 1913.  Pugh studied under Mrs. Ruth Huntington Moore, then head of the Art Department.  She also studied at Columbia University; Art Students League, New York; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she won the Cresson Scholarship for study in Europe. She worked in New York City in the nineteen twenties as a free-lance artist.  Her block prints appeared on the jackets of widely sold novels and her paintings received recognition at exhibitions.  Her art has been exhibited in many art centers in the United States and in Europe.  She is included in the Collection of Contemporary American Prints in the Library of Congress.  Numerous portraits of U.S. congressmen hang in the House of Representatives Office Building in Washington, D.C.  She is referenced in North Carolina Authors, Discovering North Carolina, Who's Who in North Carolina, Who's Who in American Art, and Who's Who Among American Women.  She was head of the Art Department at Peace College from 1938-1960. She died October 26, 1986.

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