gallery artist mary nelson sinclair was asked earlier this year to paint a commissioned pair of paintings for her alma mater millbrook a coed boarding school in upstate new york. millbrook has had an enormous influence on mary nelson’s life and was where she become confident through learning to pursue a career in the arts. it was an honor for her to paint not only a place she loves but also the area she has chosen to live and raise a family in as well. read below her own very personal connection to the school and the land.
“as a ninth grader in dallas, tx i knew i was not where i was meant to be. it was evident to myself and parents that i was not thriving where i was and i insisted that i be close to nyc as possible. after several boarding school visits, from virginia to connecticut to ny, the three of us unanimously agreed on millbrook. we visited on a very cold and snowy day in february 2000 and even then, we all felt the warmth of the community and campus. this was going to be my place.
and my place it was and is. my years at millbrook were full with the typical high school dramas, major ups and big downs, but it became a place where I was, for the first time, confident to be mary nelson. i found art making through my art teacher, bill hardy, and i owe so much of what i do to him-from teaching the fundamentals of drawing and painting, to looking and thinking about art in different ways with roundtable discussions. i was no longer the shy anxious girl who was afraid to show what she had created or what she had to say. my experience at the school was transformative.
after graduating and throughout my fourteen years of living and working in nyc, i never lost touch with the school or my close friends/teachers etc. with frequent trips upstate , i would visit school often and ultimately was married in the chapel. now, we live fifteen minutes from campus. having lived here full time for the last 4.5 years has been another life-changing experience. life is slower, seasons harsher, but also more beautiful. i have been able to watch each season come and go and have found spring and autumn to be the ones i pine for other times of the year. they too are transformative, signalling the beginning and the end.
with these new surroundings and lifestyle, my work has changed. for the past year there has been an obvious shift in composition. more simplified in some ways, and slowly becoming more subjective after being immersed in these beautifully changing landscapes. the shift in light and foliage throughout the year has subconsciously made their way onto the canvas. when given the honor of a commission for anthony house, named for the great bob anthony, there was no question that these surroundings would serve as inspiration. these landscapes are my home.”
