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2-16-07, 11:11 am
Mary Perry, now ninety-seven years old, went to art school at the age of 15 in 1923. In New York City she attended the Art Students League and the Traphagen School of Fashion and Design. She was one of 40 women sculptors on the New York City Federal Arts Project (Commonly referred to as the WPA) At that time, in the 1930's, she began to do social-protest art which has been her life long interest. On the Federal Arts Project , besides doing her own sculpture, she also taught children sculpture at the Harlem Art Center and the East Side House. Later she assisted the sculptor Cesare Stea on a sculpture for West Point.
During the 1930's and 1940's, she exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum, Carnegie Hall, New York University, Rockefeller Center, The Roerich Musuem, The New School for Social Reseach, Radio City, Independence Hall, and such galleries as the ACA Gallery and the Municipal Gallery in New York City.
After moving with her husband and child to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1950's, she exhibited during the 50's and 60's in San Francisco galleries, Telegraph Hill, East West, Greta Willliams, and the Artists Cooperative, and in Oakland at the Oakland Museum. At Dominican College in San Rafael, California she had a solo show on her response to the Vietnam War. In 1968 she had her own gallery in San Rafael, California.
In the 70's and 80's, she had shows in California including Benicia, Sausalito, and in San Francisco at the Commonwealth Club. Mary has lived in the Rogue Valley since 1992, her work has been shown at the Grants Pass Museum, The Rogue Valley Art Gallery, The Jega Gallery, Garos, and the Art Space Gallery near Tillamook , Oregon. In February 2006 her social- protest work was shown at the Thorndike Gallery on the Southern Oregon University campus.
In 2001 " Art and Antiques Magazine," had an essay on her Federal Arts Project experiences. Her art papers are in the Smithsonian, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, and at Sonoma State University in their collection on women artists.
An award winner at both the Metropolitan and Oakland Museum for her sculpture, she was also an award winner for her painting from Mill Valley which honored her with their Spirit of Mill Valley Award.
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