The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced on May 14 the passing of American artist Mary Lovelace O’Neal, who died on May 10. The museum said her work made a significant impact on contemporary art and expressed condolences to her family, friends, and those she inspired.
Mary Lovelace O’Neal was known for her activism and use of deep lampblack pigment in her paintings, which reflected biographical, social, and political themes. Her approach showed how abstraction by Black artists could advance painting while remaining socially engaged. “We at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts extend our heartfelt condolences to Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s family and friends and to the many artists she inspired throughout her life,” said Director and CEO Alex Nyerges.
Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at VMFA, said: “We grieve the loss of Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a vibrant voice in the field. Her loss is devastating given that the art world is just now taking note of her artistic contributions and impact on the contemporary art landscape.” Jenkins Johnson Gallery gallerist Karen Jenkins-Johnson added: “I had the privilege of working with the legendary Mary Lovelace O’Neal at a pivotal time in her career. Over the last six years Mary and I worked unbendingly on her legacy and placement in the art canon. VMFA’s exhibition of her Lampblack series is a testament to her longevity and relevance in contemporary art.” Cassel Oliver also said: “We at VMFA are honored to share Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s powerful works with our community and to celebrate her enduring legacy.”
The current exhibition at VMFA titled ‘Mary Lovelace O’Neal: Blacker Than a Hundred Midnights Down in a Cypress Swamp’ features nine large-scale lampblack paintings along with eleven works on paper—many reunited for public viewing for the first time since their display at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1979.
O’Neal’s career spanned over sixty years; she drew influence from minimalism as well as abstract expressionism to develop an individual visual language that was both personal and political. She taught at University of California Berkeley beginning in the late 1970s until retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2006. Her work has been exhibited widely—including solo exhibitions internationally—and appears in major collections such as those held by The Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art Washington D.C., Smithsonian Institution, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Mellon Foundation New York City, among others.
VMFA will host a public lecture about O’Neal’s legacy by Cassel Oliver on July 16. The museum provides free admission every day through its educational initiatives aimed at fostering community engagement with global art; it maintains more than 50,000 works spanning over six millennia across permanent galleries alongside rotating exhibitions according to its official website.
