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!.
Académie Julian, Royal College of Artist
She designed the Christopher Columbus sculpture at the World"s Columbian Exposition. Don"t give up the ship!"
While in Chicago preparing for the World"s Columbian Exposition, sculptor Augustus Saint 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. Like many of the buildings at the Exposition, the statue was made of staff, a temporary building material, and no longer exists.
Street Gaudens biographer Bruce Wilkens relates that Millet objected to the prominent placement of the statue and arranged to have it moved to a spot near the train station.
Lawrence never forgave Millet and is quoted as saying, "I could stamp on his face and grind it into the gravel until it bled."
Following the end of the Exposition Lawrence served as an assistant to Street Gaudens, helping him in the creation of the General John A. Logan monument that was bound for Grant Park in Chicago. Thereafter, she moved to Paris where she studied at the Académie Julian.
There, in 1893, she met a young assistant to Frederick William Macmonnies, Francois Master of Laws Tonetti. Saint Gaudens, when he heard about the wedding "broke down and wept" and bemoaned the loss of her artistic ability to a much less talented sculptor, saying that she would likely have "lots of festive children," but would produce no more significant art
Lawrence Tonetti was one of the founders of New York"s Cosmopolitan Club.
As a supporter of the arts, she helped form an artists" colony at her ancestral home of Sneden"s Landing, New York, now called Palisades, New New York
The architect Charles Follen McKim, a founding member of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead and White and a widower, who had fallen in love with Lawrence in New York, had enough sway in Chicago to get the statue of Columbus returned to its former place.
