Mary Graham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Graham was born in Manhattan in 1956, and began her art career as a stage designer and scenic artist. After attending art schools in NYC, she received her BFA in Painting from the NH Institute of Art. Since graduating, her work has focused on landscapes both invented and observed, and on still life paintings of the natural objects that inhabit it. Mary’s paintings are primarily concerned with light and space. Influenced by the paintings of the 19th c., particularly the Hudson River School and the American Luminists, her paintings use color and atmosphere to evoke the solitude, silence, and transcendence found in nature.

Artist Statement:
"I feel nature to be deeply inhabited, a living place embodied by living things in the changing cycles of life. Intimate encounters with the “otherness” of nature is the core inspiration for my work, and has given me a deep appreciation for the wild beauty of the mountains, streams and forests, and the human need for wilderness. Painting and drawing from nature, from life, is a process that, over time, builds an intimate relationship with these elements, and awakens the desire to preserve and celebrate this fragile beauty. The paintings become visual sanctuaries for this awareness.