Mary Sully facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Sully
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Born |
Susan Mabel Deloria
May 2, 1896 |
Died | August 29, 1963 |
(aged 67)
Nationality | Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (American) |
Mary Sully (1896–1963) was a talented Yankton Dakota artist. She created unique and modern artworks. For a long time, her art was not well-known. But in the early 2000s, people started to discover her amazing work.
Sully is famous for her colorful pencil drawings. Many of these are "personality portraits" of famous people. She drew celebrities like Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Stein, and Greta Garbo. Her art often looks like a kaleidoscope with its bright colors and balanced shapes. She used abstract forms and symbols in her designs.
Her artwork blended traditional Native American designs. She was inspired by Navajo textiles and Plains parfleches. These are painted rawhide containers. Her style also fit in with art movements like Art Nouveau and Bauhaus. Mary Sully was a revolutionary artist. She was one of the first to combine Native American art with modern art styles.
About Mary Sully's Life
Mary Sully was born Susan Mable Deloria on May 2, 1896. Her father was Philip J. Deloria, also known as Tipi Sapa (Black Lodge). Her mother was named Mary Sully. Mary Sully was the great-granddaughter of a famous 19th-century American portrait artist, Thomas Sully. This is where she got her artistic last name.
She had a sister named Ella Cara Deloria. Ella was an anthropologist, someone who studies human societies and cultures. The sisters traveled a lot together across the United States. They visited many Native communities. Mary learned about the art that was part of their daily lives. She also spent time in New York City. The busy art scene there gave her many ideas.
Mary Sully grew up in the Episcopal faith. Her father was a minister. Her religious background can be seen in some of her artworks. Mary Sully passed away on August 29, 1963, in Omaha, Nebraska.
Exploring Mary Sully's Art
Mary Sully often created her art in triptychs. These are artworks made of three panels. Some of her triptychs were "Personality portraits." These pieces showed the spirit of a person through abstract symbols. She used a consistent color palette across the three panels. This made the whole artwork feel connected.
One example is her portrait called Kagawa. This piece shows Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese social reformer. In the first panel, there is a large purple cross. The design around it seems to move and have depth. The middle panel is like a kaleidoscope version of the first. It looks like parts of the first panel have been zoomed in. They are arranged in a balanced pattern.
The third panel uses designs from the first two. It includes crosses and circles. But it shows them in a traditional Navajo style. This kind of design is often seen in Navajo textiles or Plains beadwork. It seems Mary Sully purposefully mixed Navajo designs with Christian symbols.
A curator named Jill Ahlberg Yohe explained Sully's use of symbols. She said that Christianity was brought to Dakota and Lakota people. Many traditional practices were banned. But if artists could combine them with Christian ideas, they could keep their traditions alive. You can also see this in Sully's triptych called "The Indian Church."
In 2019, Mary Sully's great-nephew, Philip J. Deloria, wrote a book about her. It is called Becoming Mary Sully: Toward an American Indian Abstract. Three of Mary Sully's artworks were chosen for a special art show. This show was called “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists.” It was held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.