Mary Abbott

Abbott in her studio

Mary Abbott

Untitled - Haiti pastel and charcoal on paper, c.1952 25 x 19 inchessigned at lower right

About the Artist

Mary Abbott (born July 27, 1921) is an American artist known as a member of the School of abstract expressionists in the late 1940s and 1950s. Her abstract and figurative work were influenced by her time spent in St. Croix and Haiti, where she lived off and on throughout the 1950s.

Raised in Southampton, she came from a family of strong women and historical lineage (she is a descendent of the second president of the United States John Adams). She traveled in her youth with her grandmother and her aunt Mary Ogden Abbott, an artist in her own right. Her natural beauty led to a successful coming out as a debutante and modeling for several magazines but she challenged the gender norm by pursuing painting as her main career.

Artist CV

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Selected solo exhibitions

. 1950-60: Robert Keen Gallery, Southampton, NY;

. 1964, 65, 66: Kornblee Gallery, New York, NY;

. 1967: “In Loft,” New York, NY; Galerie Kleber, Paris, France;

. 1974: College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN; Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN;

. 1974, 75: Carleton College, Northfield, MN;

. 1977: Ann Hathaway Gallery, Washington, D.C.;

. 1978: St. Benedicts, St. Joseph, MN; Lake Gallery, Minneapolis, MN;

. 1985: Ingber Gallery, New York City;

. 1986: Benton Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY;

. 1988, 90, 93: Benton Gallery, Southampton, NY;

. 1997: Arlen Bujese, East Hampton, NY.

. 2007: McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

. 1952: Kootz Gallery, New York City;

. 1952-56: Tanager Gallery, New York;

. 1954, 55, 57: “New York Painting and Sculpture Annual,” Stable Gallery, New York City;

. 1955: “Poets Choose Painters,” Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York City;

. 1956: “Recent Drawings USA,” Museum of Modern Art, NY; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado;

. 1959: “Poetry and Painting,” Kornblee Gallery, NY;

. 1964: Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY;

. 1965: Long Island University, NY;

. 1966, 77, 87, 90: Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY;

. 1970, 1993: “Works on Paper,” Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro;

. 1970: Poindexter Gallery, NY;

. 1976: Landmark Gallery, New York;

. 1977: “Eight Artists, Minnesota, U.S.A.,” Projects Arts Center, Dublin, Ireland;

. 1977, 85: University of Minnesota; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota;

. 1985: Ingber Gallery, New York;

. 1990: “East Hampton Avant–Garde; A Salute to the Signa Gallery,” East Hampton, NY;

. 1991, 92: Benton Gallery, Southampton, NY;

. 1992: “Artists for the United World,” United Nations, UN Plaza, New York; National Academy of Design, New York; Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College, New York;

. 1992, 93: Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York;

. 1993-2000: Arlene Bujese Gallery, East Hampton, NY;

. 2007: “Suitcase Paintings: Small Scale Abstract Expressionsim,” circ. Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia;

. 2008: Mary Abbott and Sally Egbert, Spanierman Gallery at East Hampton

. 2009: “1959”, McCormick Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

. 2017: "Women of Abstract Expressionism", Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California

WORK IN COLLECTIONS (Selection)

Mary's work is included in a number of prestigious private and public collections including The Smithsonian and the Southhampton College of Art.

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