Katharine Lane Weems (February 22, 1899 - February 11, 1989) was an American sculptor famous for her realistic portrayals of animals. Weems was born Katharine Ward Lane in Boston, the only child of Gardiner Martin and Emma Louise (Gildersleeve) Lane, and received an elite education typical for wealthy women of her class. Her father was president of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston , and her grandfather was classicist Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve. She was named after her aunt, Katharine Ward Lane (d. 1893), who was a watercolorist. She studied art at the Boston Museum School under Charles Grafly and and also studied at the summer studios of Anna Hyatt Huntington. Like many woman artists of the period, Weems often faced hostility because of her gender. However, she r