Landscape painter. Born in Ossining, NY on April 1, 1867 into a large Austrian family. Ludmilla’s father, Carl Pilat, was a member of the Austrian army who had decamped to the U.S. for political reasons. Located in the beautiful Hudson River area, the Pilat home was an artistic haven where the young girl was exposed to art, music, and literature. A romance blossomed between her and Thad Welch, a boarder in their home, and at age 16 she married the 39 year old artist. After a few years in New York, Boston, and a visit to the Worlds Fair in Chicago, she came with her husband to California in 1893. Pasadena was their home for a year until moving north to Mann County. The couple lived in a rustic cabin in the hills of Mann County where, under the tutelage of her husband, she became a highly competent painter of quiet, bucolic scenes. Due to Thads’ health they were forced to leave Mann County for a more moderate climate in Santa Barbara, where the couple spent their remaining years. Ludmilla died on a train in Florida on May 17, 1925. In: Santa Barbara Historical Society; Oakland Museum; CHS; Sonoma Co. (CA) Museum. CHS; CSL; AAW; KOV; Thadeus Welch, Pioneer and Painter; Santa Barbara Press, 5-24-1925 (obit).
