Frances Merle Fincher (1901-1994) Born in 1901, Frances “Merle” FIncher was raised in Waxahachie, later attending the North Texas State Teachers College in Denton. In 1939-40, Fincher was on staff at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts elementary school teacher in 1939 and 1940. In 1946/47, she received a Masters degree in art from North Texas State Teachers College, focusing her thesis on pottery and tiles of Guanajuato, Mexico. This paper is the result of a study made in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1945 when she attended the North Texas State College Inter-American Institute as a summer field school in Guanajuato, Mexico, and was part of the State University of Guanajuato. Fincher took art classes with notable artist and educator Carl B. Compton, who also served as the director of the Institute led by director, , who also taught art classes. Later, Fincher taught art at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas between 1953-1959. During this time, she regularly served as a judge for regional art competitions, including the 26th annual Scholastic Art Awards regional competition in 1953 along with notable Fort Worth artist Bror Utter. In 1959, she was involved with the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce 5th Annual High School Art Exhibition, serving as a Dallas Public School advisor alongside noted artist/educator Barbara Maples.