she married the american civil war veteran colonel george ward nichols in 1868, who had been hired by her family to catalog their vast collections of artwork. nichols was eighteen years her elder. in 1871, she was responsible for planning and raising money for the now annually celebrated cincinnati may festival, making her the first female in history to found a music festival in the united states. the first festival was not held until 1873, the same year she began painting china under the instruction of german immigrant and ceramic chemist karl langenbeck.