James T. Shaffer (1903-1987)

James T. Shaffer earned a scholarship to study at the School of Fine Arts of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy in 1931-32. Ten years later he was a member of its faculty. As a member, Shaffer exhibited with the Buffalo Society of Artists. Mary was selected for their 43rd annual exhibition and was also shown in the Fifth Annual Western New York Exhibition at the Albright Art Gallery in 1938. Shaffer was the only Lancaster artist represented. According to a 1985 interview with the artist, Mary was a Polish peasant who worked in the hay fields around Depew and did housework for Mrs. Shaffer on Fridays. She felt she was too ugly to pose for a painting, but Shaffer convinced her to sit for him. The resulting portrait is reminiscent of Grant Wood’s empathetic paintings of dour, exhausted Mid-Western farmers.