A privileged young woman, in 1887 Anna accompanied by her mother and friend, Lena, traveled to Venice and then on to Paris, where she enrolled in the Académie Julian.
 Renting a space on the top floor of the Hotel Oxford and Cambridge, Anna's accommodation was connected to an adjoining room occupied by Lena.
They were situated in the 1st arrondissement of Paris in close proximity to the Tuileries Garden and the Musée du Louvre.
Surviving family correspondence, including illustrations, describes the experiences they had while they were there.
 These letters include descriptions of artists’ materials, subject matter in included in works of art, and comments about critiques received from their instructors.

Under the training of Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre, Anna produced figurative charcoal drawings rather than paintings; both were revered artists.
 Lefebvre was known for his meticulously executed portraits and nudes, and during his long career, he earned three Salon medals, was appointed to the French Academy of Fine Arts, attained the rank of Commander in the Legion of Honor, and won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1861.
 Gustave Boulanger, also a figure painter, was best known for his classical and Orientalist subjects.
 Some of his other students included Childe Hassam, George Hitchcock, Frederick William MacMonnies, Gari Melchers, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Elizabeth Nourse, Robert Reid, and Edmund Charles Tarbell - Anna's work was in good company.
Likely her awareness of the reputations of her mentors resulted in welcomed reception of their instruction.
 In one letter, she wrote that she received "stern criticisms" and yet recounted that they were “fair and instructive.”

Several other artist and friends from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts also studied at the Académie Julian.
 One such student was Ida C. Haskell, whose mother came to Paris to look after the young women.
 While there, Mrs. Hanna Haskell wrote to John H. Vanderpoel, an art teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, to inquire about where she and the students might summer in 1888.
 (It was not uncommon for artist students to paint en plein aire during summers, to take advantage of the out-of-doors after a cold damp Paris winter.)
 Vanderpoel responded by suggesting they consider spending their summer in Rijsoord in the Netherlands, where his parents lived before they immigrated to America.
 He advised that the cost of living in Rijsoord would be affordable, the scenery excellent, and his cousins—a family named Noorlander, would be good companions.
Having previously taught at the Académie Julian, Vanderpoel also decided to accompany the students to Rijsoord where he could paint and teach.
 Julian friends, Page Scott and Alice Kellogg from Chicago, and Page's sister Gertrude, joined the expedition.

Anna's experience in Holland would forever influence her work as an artist.
 Rijsoord was so isolated from the outside world that strangers were cause for great attention.
 In a letter to her parents, Anna wrote of a large crowd of more than 100 local children that followed Anna and Mrs. Haskell, almost causing a riot because they had never seen artists before.
  Her affection for these citizens ensued in picturesque portrayals of Dutch farmers and laborers, predominantly women and children, and gorgeous views of river scenes, dikes, and wide-open landscapes.

In the fall of 1888, Anna returned to Paris along with her friends.
 Rather than returning to the Académie Julian, they registered at the Académie Colarossi where the fees were more reasonable, and the classes were less structured and more progressive.
 There they received instruction from artists Jean-André Rixens (1846-1925) and Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois (1852-1923).
Anna moved to an apartment house with Page Scott, Ida C. Haskell, her mother Hannah, Alice Kellogg, Amy Atkinson from York, England, the Jordain sisters [first names unknown] and Adele.
 Anna, along with her friends, also rented artists’ studios.
 Anna shared hers with another Colarossi stu
A privileged young woman, in 1887 Anna accompanied by her mother and friend, Lena, traveled to Venice and then on to Paris, where she enrolled in the Académie Julian.  Renting a space on the top floor of the Hotel Oxford and Cambridge, Anna's accommodation was connected to an adjoining room occupied by Lena. They were situated in the 1st arrondissement of Paris in close proximity to the Tuileries Garden and the Musée du Louvre. Surviving family correspondence, including illustrations, describes the experiences they had while they were there.  These letters include descriptions of artists’ materials, subject matter in included in works of art, and comments about critiques received from their instructors.
Under the training of Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre, Anna produced figurative charcoal drawings rather than paintings; both were revered artists.  Lefebvre was known for his meticulously executed portraits and nudes, and during his long career, he earned three Salon medals, was appointed to the French Academy of Fine Arts, attained the rank of Commander in the Legion of Honor, and won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1861.  Gustave Boulanger, also a figure painter, was best known for his classical and Orientalist subjects.  Some of his other students included Childe Hassam, George Hitchcock, Frederick William MacMonnies, Gari Melchers, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Elizabeth Nourse, Robert Reid, and Edmund Charles Tarbell - Anna's work was in good company. Likely her awareness of the reputations of her mentors resulted in welcomed reception of their instruction.  In one letter, she wrote that she received "stern criticisms" and yet recounted that they were “fair and instructive.”
Several other artist and friends from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts also studied at the Académie Julian.  One such student was Ida C. Haskell, whose mother came to Paris to look after the young women.  While there, Mrs. Hanna Haskell wrote to John H. Vanderpoel, an art teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, to inquire about where she and the students might summer in 1888.  (It was not uncommon for artist students to paint en plein aire during summers, to take advantage of the out-of-doors after a cold damp Paris winter.)  Vanderpoel responded by suggesting they consider spending their summer in Rijsoord in the Netherlands, where his parents lived before they immigrated to America.  He advised that the cost of living in Rijsoord would be affordable, the scenery excellent, and his cousins—a family named Noorlander, would be good companions. Having previously taught at the Académie Julian, Vanderpoel also decided to accompany the students to Rijsoord where he could paint and teach.  Julian friends, Page Scott and Alice Kellogg from Chicago, and Page's sister Gertrude, joined the expedition.
Anna's experience in Holland would forever influence her work as an artist.  Rijsoord was so isolated from the outside world that strangers were cause for great attention.  In a letter to her parents, Anna wrote of a large crowd of more than 100 local children that followed Anna and Mrs. Haskell, almost causing a riot because they had never seen artists before.   Her affection for these citizens ensued in picturesque portrayals of Dutch farmers and laborers, predominantly women and children, and gorgeous views of river scenes, dikes, and wide-open landscapes.
In the fall of 1888, Anna returned to Paris along with her friends.  Rather than returning to the Académie Julian, they registered at the Académie Colarossi where the fees were more reasonable, and the classes were less structured and more progressive.  There they received instruction from artists Jean-André Rixens (1846-1925) and Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois (1852-1923). Anna moved to an apartment house with Page Scott, Ida C. Haskell, her mother Hannah, Alice Kellogg, Amy Atkinson from York, England, the Jordain sisters [first names unknown] and Adele.  Anna, along with her friends, also rented artists’ studios.  Anna shared hers with another Colarossi stu
Anna Huntington Stanley