Mary Lawrence [Tonetti] (1868–1945) was an American sculptor. Lawrence was born in New York City into a prominent New York family whose ancestors included John Lawrence, mayor of New York City from 1673–1675 and 1691–1692, and the War of 1812 patriot, Captain James Lawrence who died after uttering the words, "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" The fact that the crew did surrender the ship in no way diminished the captain's reputation. While in Chicago preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition, sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens recommended Lawrence, who had been a pupil of his at the Art Students League for the past five years, for the task of creating the monumental statue of Christopher Columbus that was to be placed at the entrance of the Administration Building. Although some critics claimed that St. Gaudens, or his brother Louis, had in fact modelled the work, St. Gaudens himself debunked this by stating in his Reminiscences that Lawrence, "modeled and executed it and to her goes all the credit for the vitality and breadth of treatment which it revealed." However not everyone was happy with the choice of Lawrence for this work.