Awareness Post - Mary Whyte
- matildafrantz25
- Feb 16
- 3 min read
Mary Whyte is an American watercolor artist specializing in portraiture. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1953, and knew from a young age that she wanted to become an artist. Later, she attended the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where she gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a teaching certification. Since her graduation, Whyte's work has been featured in countless solo and group exhibitions primarily on the east coast and across the US, though she has also been featured in shows in Thailand and China. Additionally, she's authored art books and illustrated many children's books. Here is a list of some of her past major solo museum exhibitions:
November 29, 2021 – July 22, 2022: WE THE PEOPLE: Portraits of
Veterans in America, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle
Virginia
June 27, 2021 – September 26, 2021: WE THE PEOPLE: Portraits of
Veterans in America, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama
October 25, 2019 – December 22, 2019: WE THE PEOPLE: Portraits of
Veterans in America, City Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina
May 20, 2017 – November 20, 2017: Portraits of Life: The Art of Mary
Whyte, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha Nebraska
October 16, 2015 – January 3, 2016: Mary Whyte: A Portrait of Us,
Mennello Museum of American Art, Orlando Florida
November 7 – 17, 2013: National Arts Club, New York, New York
September 8 – November 24, 2013: More Than a Likeness, The Butler
Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
April 6, 2013 – July 7, 2013: Working South, Peninsula Fine Arts Center,
Newport News, Virginia
October 5, 2012 – February 24, 2013: Working South, Telfair Museum of
Art, Savannah, Georgia
May 4, 2012 – September 9, 2012: Working South, Gibbes Museum of
Art, Charleston, South Carolina
December 2, 2011 – March 10, 2012: Working South, Morris Museum of
Art, Augusta, Georgia
March 9 – September 18, 2011: Working South, Greenville County
Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina
2003 - Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina
2003 - Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, North Carolina
Spartanburg County Museum of Art, South Carolina
South Carolina State Museum, South Carolina
Looking at her work, all of her paintings stand out to me for their amazing craft, compositions, and the feelings she is able to convey through them. Here are some of my favorites:
I love how Whyte is able to make the painting look engulfed in smoke through her amazing watercolor. I also love how much depth she is able to achieve with a limited color palette, the slight abstraction in the background, and the expression on the fire man's face, which seems to reach towards the viewer. I'd love to use her technique of combining the abstraction watercolor can make with intricate detail in my own work.
The strong blues stood out to me in this piece, especially in the way that they contrast the white dresses of the girls. I also like the small bits of blue that are dispersed through the wheat field, which I think makes the painting feel more cohesive. Lastly, I love the mood of this painting, and think that Whyte's ability to convey a scene's emotions is very powerful.
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