The History of Disability in Art - Bowdoin College Museum of Art

The History of Disability in Art

Mary Lovelace O’Neal

American (Jackson, Mississippi, 1942)

Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s work grounds itself in mixed media, painting and printmaking. She earned her B.F.A. from Howard University in 1964, During her time at Howard, Mary studied with artists David Driskell, Loïs Mailou Jones, and James A. Porter. She was also an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement, often attending protests, marches, and voting drives. In 1963 she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. While there she became fascinated with abstract expressionism, delving deeply into the art of Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. Her own work exhibits monumental-scale layering of materials that intertwine with personal truths and mythologies, while addressing themes of racism and social justice. Her work vacillates between minimalism and expressionism, evoking a narrative that explores the space between what is abstract and real.

Dark Days in the Abundant Blue Light of Paris (from 10 x 10: Ten Women, Ten Prints, a serigraph portfolio), 1995

MARY LOVELACE O’NEAL (American, born 1942), Dark Days in the Abundant Blue Light of Paris (from 10 x 10: Ten Women, Ten Prints, a serigraph portfolio), 1995, silkscreen on paper, 22 x 22 in. (55.88 x 55.88 cm), Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, Accession number needed. © Mary Lovelace O’Neal. Digital reproduction by Sean BurrusMary Lovelace O’Neal (American, born 1942)

silkscreen on paper

22 x 22 in. (55.88 x 55.88 cm)

Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2018.10.8.8. © Mary Lovelace O’Neal.

Artist, educator, and activist Mary Lovelace O’Neal cannot be confined to a single artistic movement. Embedded in her work are the influences of abstraction and expressionism. She primarily connects her work in abstraction to work coming out of the African continent, though American artists have also been a source of inspiration for her. Her work in abstraction was criticized by members of the Black Arts Movement for its lack of (obvious) social critique. Her work sometimes explores personal narratives, such as Dark Days. Created during her six-month printmaking residency in Paris, Lovelace O’Neal captures the cold and gloomy winter she experienced during her time in France. The darkness of the print could reflect her sense of isolation, as she considered herself an interloper among her printmaking cohort. Two corseted figures illuminate the composition, perhaps a reference to the restrictive dress customs for women throughout history.

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

Bowdoin College Museum of Art