MARY WHYTE has gained national recognition for
her figurative watercolors. Most noted for her
depictions of the African-American Gullah women of
Johns Island, South Carolina, near where she lives, in
recent years Whyte has turned her attention to
paintings of southern laborers. Whyte’s exhibition of
fifty paintings and drawings called “Working South”
began touring several museums March 2011, and was
the subject of feature on CBS Sunday Morning.
Mary Whyte is the author of several books about
painting, and her work has been featured in numerous
periodicals and magazines including International
Artist, Artist Magazine, American Artist and American
Art Collector. Her work has been included in many
national exhibitions including shows with the Butler
Museum of American Art, the American Watercolor
Society, the Greenville County Museum of Art in
Greenville, South Carolina, and the Allied Artists of
America.
Whyte is a faculty member of the Portrait Society of
America, and continues to teach painting workshops
nationwide. Her work can be viewed at Coleman Fine
Art in Charleston, South Carolina.
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Whyte has illustrated over a dozen children’s books,
having several projects published by Chronicle Books
and Dial Books. Many of the illustrations are now in
collections of private individuals and institutions
including the Mazza Collection of Children’s Book
illustrations of the University of Findlay in Ohio.
In 1991, Mary Whyte and her husband Smith Coleman,
moved to an island on the South Carolina coast and
developed close friendships within the African-
American community. Soon after her arrival and quite
by accident, she met Alfreda LaBoard, and her intrepid
group of senior citizens who gather weekly to make
quilts and socialize in a small rural church. Long time
residents of Johns Island and descendants of slaves,
these women would change her life and her paintings
in astonishing and unexpected ways. Mary Whyte’s
book, Alfreda’s World (Wyrick & Company, 2003), is
about the shared experiences and values that deepened
the friendship between the two remarkable women.
The story is told in the touching watercolors and
drawings that the artist created over a ten-year period.
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May 4 - 11, 2013 Italy
Workshop For More
Information - Click Here
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