Enella Benedict (1858–1942) was born in Lake Forest, Illinois, and attended SAIC from 1886 to 1890. Benedict was influenced by realism and impressionism and painted portraits, landscapes, and scenes from daily life in oil and watercolor. In 1892 Benedict founded the Art School at Jane Addams’s settlement house, Hull House, located in a working-class neighborhood on the Near West Side. Benedict was dedicated to the belief that art could lead to social change. She taught art classes at Hull House while also teaching at SAIC. She organized an artist-in-residence program and provided artists the opportunity to exhibit their work.