| Biography | Leonora Jackson McKim (born Leonora Jackson, February 20, 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA;died 1969) was one of the first American women to achieve international acclaim as a concert violinist. First lady Frances Folsom Cleveland was one of her early patrons, enabling her to study in Chicago, Paris, and Berlin. She was decorated by Queen Victoria and performed throughout Europe and the United States with leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony. She retired from performing after her marriage in 1915 to Dr. William Duncan McKim (18551935). The McKims were avid supporters of the arts, holding musical programs in their home and collecting a large number of works of art, many of which were donated to the Smithsonian Institution and the Maryland Historical Society after the death of Dr. McKim. |