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1050 Woodley Road Montgomery, Alabama 36106 (334) 262-5349 Fax: (334) 567-0060 weberart@mindspring.com |
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| Mary Whitfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1947 when Mary’s mother was nineteen. Her father walked out on their wedding day so Mary spent the first years of her life in the home of her maternal grandparents. It was a loving environment with two aunts, one of whom had eight children. The home was filled with family stories and traditions. Mary’s grandmother was an active soldier in the Civil Rights struggle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| View Works by a Specific Artist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"The Struggle Continues - A Whipping" watercolor on canvasboard in linen liner frame 16" x 20" $9250 (9501)
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As a child Mary developed a vivid imagination and loved to spend hours entertaining her younger sister and cousins, by telling stories that she illustrated with drawings. When Mary was seven, her mother remarried a man from New York and moved there with her sister. She and her sister would spend every summer in Alabama. One summer during Junior High Mary refused to return to New York at summer’s end but after considerable strife, finally returned and finished high school at Great Neck North in l965. At Great Neck, Mary and her sister were pioneers in integration being the only black members of the student body there.
"The Struggle Continues - A Whipping" in frame (9501)
Soon after graduating, when she was ninteen, Mary married a man twelve years older who was quite controlling of Mary and was rarely at home. They had three wonderful sons who remain the bright spots in her life. She was trapped in an unhapppy marriage for many years until finally separating in l997.
"Wash Day" watercolor on paper 8.25" x 12.25" $2600 (7303)
During the early years of her marriage, Mary began having the compulsion to create things after her children were put to bed. She would often find old plywood and house paint in her garage and would paint paintings. This compulsion became a continuation of her love for storytelling that filled her lonely nights. It became her escape from the sadness in her marriage.
"A Crust of Bread" watercolor on paper 3.75" x 11.75" $2600 (7307)
Bringing alive the stories from her grandparents, aunts and uncles of her childhood. Mary suffered from depression for many years before having a breakdown. After receiving medical help, she continues to create art as way of coping with her depression and to continue telling stories.
"Mr. Johnny's Family "(from the book, David's Story), watercolor on arches paper, 10" x 18", $3950 (6136)
"Helping the Mother and Children", watercolor on paper, 4.75" X 5.5", $1700 (6027)
"Drawing for Little Sister", watercolor on paper, 7.5" x 10.2", $1950 (5866)
"Rainy Day", watercolor on paper, 15" x 19.75", $3150 (5863)
