About: Mary Sully

Mary Sully (1896–1963) was a Yankton Dakota avant-garde artist. Her work was largely unknown until the early 21st century. Sully is best known today for colored-pencil triptychs and "personality portraits" which often depicted celebrities such as Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Stein, and Greta Garbo. Using abstract forms and symbols coupled with rich and mesmerizing colors and symmetry, many of her panels appear like a kaleidoscope. Her designs draw from and incorporate classic Native American designs — specifically Navajo textiles or Plains parfleches, painted rawhide containers — while also aligning with the Art Nouveau and Bauhaus movements. Although she was active in the early decades of the 20th century when Native American art and Art Nouveau were making a parallel climb into mainstream fi