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Portrait
of Mary Alice Hadley,
1941 Mary Spencer Nay was born May 13, 1913 in Crestwood, Kentucky daughter of Ben Franklin and Edna (Stringer) Nay. Mary took her first art lesson at the newly formed Children's Free Art Classes in Louisville. After high school she attended Louisville's Art Center Association School. In the 1930s Nay worked on several federal arts projects including a mural in the Louisville Free Public Library children's room. Nay earned a B.A. from University of Louisville in 1941 studying under Ulfert Wilke and an M.A. in 1960. In the 1940s and early 1950s, she attended the Cincinnati Art Academy, the Art Students League with George Grosz and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Will Barnet, the International School of Art in Mexico and studied with Boris Margo at Provincetown, Massachusetts. After her marriage to Lou Block in 1951 she traveled extensively throughout Europe and Mexico. Nay taught at the Art Center from 1935 to 1959 serving as director from 1944 to 1949. In 1959 she joined University of Louisville's faculty as an artist and educator establishing the first curriculum in creative art. In 1971 she was named Distinguished Professor of Art Education and in 1975 Marcia S. Hite Professor. The portrait on exhibit is that of Mary Alice Hadley, Louisville artist and founder of Hadley Pottery. Mary Spencer Nay retired and painted in Provincetown until her death on May 22, 1993. |
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13, 2001 |
