Born into an upper class, well-connected family in New York City, Matilda Auchincloss Brownell was the daughter of New York City Bar Association Secretary Silas B. Brownell (1830-1918) and Sarah Stoddard Sheffield (1845-1922).[1][2] Her paternal lineage traces back to Colonial settlers who came to New England in 1638.[3] In 1894 Brownell attended the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art, where she was a student of William Merritt Chase.[4] During this same time period she also studied at the Art Students League of New York with Chase and formed a lasting friendship with Mary Cassatt, as evidenced in several letters written in the 1890s.[5] Brownell then traveled to Paris to continue her studies at the Académie Colarossi and was a student of Frederick William MacMonnies.[6][7] During her time abroad, Matilda visited many countries, including Italy and England, in the tradition of the Grand Tour. In Paris, Brownell met a fellow student and gifted sculptor named Janet Scudder. The two would become close friends, with Brownell's father Silas eventually helping to secure the struggling Scudder her first major commission to design the seal for the New York City Bar Association. In 1898 Brownell and Scudder returned to Paris together, living in an 18th-century house on Boulevard Raspail and once again attending Académie Colarossi, where the pair would draw from life in the evenings.[6]
