Stella McLennan Roca (1879–1954), a painter known for her landscapes and her influence on the arts community in Arizona.
At Christmas, friends in Minnesota sent a letter that included this update: “Out of the blue in the spring, Mariana was contacted by Lonnie Dunbier, an art historian who was searching for information about Mariana’s grandmother, Stella Roca.
“Lonnie was preparing a series of lectures, to be given in Lincoln, Nebraska, about early Nebraska women artists. Stella [had] grown up in Nebraska City before attending the Chicago Art Institute and moving to Mexico, where she met and married Mariana’s grandfather, subsequently settling in Tucson, where she became a widely acclaimed landscape artist. Over a couple months in the spring, all of Stella’s landscapes that we have were photographed and quite a lot of historical information was exchanged, updated and edited, resulting in a comprehensive biography for use in her lectures.”
What a lovely experience! As a person who saves every letter ever written to her, I thought about what fun it would be if someone contacted me for information like that.
And I’m always interested in women artists, so I went to Wikipedia to learn more. I got a little sidetracked fixing typos in the entry, but I figured out that an offer Roca received through the Art Institute of Chicago to teach in Mexico was what led to her meeting her future husband.
I also read that her “work was known for light colored desert landscapes and glowing mountains” and that she served as president of the Tucson Fine Arts Association in 1932 and “was featured in the ‘Who’s Who in American Art.’ ” I search the internet for some of her work and was impressed. Delightful.
As for being sidetracked, do you know that anyone can edit Wikipedia? People will check up on you, of course, but it is ridiculously easy, and as a former editor, I simply had to fix a couple misspellings and a run-on sentence. If I was wrong to do that, Wikipedia experts will let me know.
Art: Stella McLennan Roca
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
That painting does use light beautifully! And I totally understand about the need to copy edit. When I was teaching college students, it was so hard to read their papers and try to separate out ideas, which were often quite astute, from their abysmal grammatical errors!
Mariana tells me that she and Lonnie are horrified by the Wikipedia entry, which in just one example, said the artist’s husband died in a car crash. In fact, he died of prostate cancer! I hope Lonnie, if she is not techy, will find someone to help her fix the whole thing. It is easy to post at Wikipedia (as persons unknown did in this case), but everyone with info needs to make sure that entries are correct. We all rely on the website so much!
Dear Suzanne’s Mom,
I also am related to Stella Roca. I would love to be put in touch with Mariana, to find out more about her experience. My mother, born in Nebraska City, called Stella her aunt, and Paul Roca her cousin.
My sisters and I are gathering some information about Stella to share with our kids and grandkids. I am a professional artist, and everyone has always assumed that I got my talents from Stella. I have one of her paintings over my desk and it inspires me everyday.
I’m on the case and will be in touch by email.
I found a more comprehensive biography about Stella Roca on the web – https://www.askart.com/artist/Stella_Roca_McLennan/108188/Stella_Roca_McLennan.aspx . We began researching her because we just purchased her home in Tucson. There’s a plaque on the front of the house identifying the home as “Roca House, est. 1917”
How I love hearing that someone found a post of mine because they were researching a notable person! I will share this information with my friend, who also connected with a long-lost cousin via my post!
I too would like to talk to artinthecenter and Marianne if she is a McLennan descendant. I am working on Stella’s family at this time and found your web site and the one kevin listed. I am a McLennan descendant but don’t know yet how I am connected to Stella McLennan Roca.
Send an email to caroline.louise@yahoo.com and I will try to put you in touch. Can’t promise.