Mary Sims estate

b. 1940, Jackson, TN, d. 2004, Eureka Springs, AR
I think that I’m not able to accept the mystery of a blurred area and go into the poetry of it will always keep me earthbound. I’m always going to be, you know, a fact finder, but that’s one of those things you just cannot fret over.
Samovar and Tomatoes
Samovar and Tomatoes

Mary Sims is celebrated for extraordinary, stylized oil paintings based on both real and invented environments. She worked daily in her studio, and over the course of her lifelong career, produced an array of intricate landscapes, whimsical still-lifes, captivating portraits and spectacular narrative scenes. Recognized not only for her elegant composition of flat forms, juxtapositions of symbol and content, affinity for texture and detail and flawless final execution, her perceptive intelligence and wild spirit distinguished her legacy. Inspired by classical history, mythology and Biblical stories, Sims’ methodical process for many of her works entangled friends, family and imagery from memories and dreams into her own subversions of history painting. Her meticulously constructed settings, which she arranged, then photographed, featured casts of costumed characters and were abundant with flowers, fabrics, decorative objects and ironic details. Sims placed particular attention on her subjects’ eyes as the representations of their souls. With astonishing scale and stunning use of color, her works produce a hypnotic effect on viewers, linking their present experience to a more mystical past.

Mary Sims was considered a Memphis painter although she lived and worked in Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the majority of her life. She was the first woman accepted into the printmaking department at the University of Iowa, where she received a BFA. She did further studies in Rome and then received her MFA from Tulane University. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she taught art at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). Her work was frequently exhibited in the region and far beyond, including at her long-term dealers in Houston, Tulsa, Los Angeles and New York. Her work is in the collections of major private and public collections including John Grisham, Mary Tyler Moore and Burt Reynolds, as well as the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock; The Assisi Foundation, Memphis; First Tennessee Bank, Memphis; the Kemper Collection, Kansas City; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson; nexAir, Memphis; Rhodes College, Memphis; and the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, among others.

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Samovar and Tomatoes
Samovar and Tomatoes
Still LIfe with Flowers
Still LIfe with Flowers
Another Birthday Alone
Another Birthday Alone
Study in Red
Study in Red
Untitled (Amaryllis)
Untitled (Amaryllis)
Untitled (Multi-Colored Irises)
Untitled (Multi-Colored Irises)
Lady Tiny's Mixed Bouquet
Lady Tiny's Mixed Bouquet
The Rascal Monks
The Rascal Monks
My Only Redbud Painting
My Only Redbud Painting
Untitled (Water Lily)
Untitled (Water Lily)
Peanut
Peanut
Lady With Fan
Lady With Fan
Spring
Spring
After Luisa's Wedding
After Luisa's Wedding
Betaudier
Betaudier
Charles Ives For Frances Gassner
Charles Ives For Frances Gassner
Michael
Michael
Untitled (Hibiscus)
Untitled (Hibiscus)
Untitled (Still Life with Flag Fan)
Untitled (Still Life with Flag Fan)
Untitled (Gray Vase)
Untitled (Gray Vase)
Untitled (Man on a Bench)
Untitled (Man on a Bench)
Noah's Family
Noah's Family
Battenberg
Battenberg
Tulip Cracker
Tulip Cracker
Eros and Anteros
Eros and Anteros
Study for South of the Border
Study for South of the Border
Yellow Pitcher
Yellow Pitcher
Untitled: Lady in Wicker
Untitled: Lady in Wicker
Pot of Tulips
Pot of Tulips
Untitled (Parrot)
Untitled (Parrot)
Untitled (Morning Glories)
Untitled (Morning Glories)
Untitled (Woman in Yellow Robe)
Untitled (Woman in Yellow Robe)
Untitled (Potted Caladium)
Untitled (Potted Caladium)
Untitled (Red and White Irises)
Untitled (Red and White Irises)
Untitled (Can of Flowers)
Untitled (Can of Flowers)
Samovar and Tomatoes
Samovar and Tomatoes
acrylic on canvas, 40x40
c. 1997
Still LIfe with Flowers
Still LIfe with Flowers
acrylic on canvas, 36x36
c. 1985
Another Birthday Alone
Another Birthday Alone
acrylic on canvas, 25x21.75
c. 1988
Study in Red
Study in Red
acrylic on canvas, 36x39.5
c. 1990
Untitled (Amaryllis)
Untitled (Amaryllis)
acrylic on canvas, 44x43.5
c. 1985
Untitled (Multi-Colored Irises)
Untitled (Multi-Colored Irises)
acrylic on canvas, 36x48
c.1985
Lady Tiny's Mixed Bouquet
Lady Tiny's Mixed Bouquet
acrylic on canvas, 44.75x42.25
1998
The Rascal Monks
The Rascal Monks
acrylic on canvas, 71x42
1995
My Only Redbud Painting
My Only Redbud Painting
acrylic on canvas, 46x36
c. 1993
Untitled (Water Lily)
Untitled (Water Lily)
acrylic on canvas, 60x65
c. 1985
Peanut
Peanut
acrylic on canvas, 20x21
c. 1994
Lady With Fan
Lady With Fan
acrylic on canvas, 60x36.5
c. 1978
Spring
Spring
acrylic on canvas, 49x58
1979
After Luisa's Wedding
After Luisa's Wedding
acrylic on canvas, 72x60
c. 1970
Betaudier
Betaudier
etching, 9.5x8.25
c. 1959
Charles Ives For Frances Gassner
Charles Ives For Frances Gassner
etching, 13x11.25
c. 1959
Michael
Michael
acrylic on canvas, 71x48
c. 1970
Untitled (Hibiscus)
Untitled (Hibiscus)
charcoal on canvas, 36x36
c. 1975
Untitled (Still Life with Flag Fan)
Untitled (Still Life with Flag Fan)
acrylic on canvas, 26.5x26.5
c. 1980
Untitled (Gray Vase)
Untitled (Gray Vase)
acrylic on canvas, 36x36
c. 1975
Untitled (Man on a Bench)
Untitled (Man on a Bench)
acrylic on canvas, 74x61
c. 1975
Noah's Family
Noah's Family
acrylic on canvas, 96" diameter
c. 1980
Battenberg
Battenberg
charcoal on canvas, 48x48
1983
Tulip Cracker
Tulip Cracker
acrylic on canvas, 34x34
1986
Eros and Anteros
Eros and Anteros
acrylic on canvas, 23x22
1988
Study for South of the Border
Study for South of the Border
acrylic on canvas, 21x11.5
c. 1993
Yellow Pitcher
Yellow Pitcher
acrylic on canvas, 24x24
c. 1973
Untitled: Lady in Wicker
Untitled: Lady in Wicker
acrylic on canvas, 42x36
c. 1975
Pot of Tulips
Pot of Tulips
acrylic on canvas, 36x36
c. 1975
Untitled (Parrot)
Untitled (Parrot)
acrylic on canvas, 60.5x44
1997
Untitled (Morning Glories)
Untitled (Morning Glories)
acrylic on canvas, 48x60
c. 1978
Untitled (Woman in Yellow Robe)
Untitled (Woman in Yellow Robe)
acrylic on canvas, 48x38
c. 1965
Untitled (Potted Caladium)
Untitled (Potted Caladium)
acrylic on canvas, 26.5x26.5
Untitled (Red and White Irises)
Untitled (Red and White Irises)
acrylic on canvas, 36x36
Untitled (Can of Flowers)
Untitled (Can of Flowers)
acrylic on canvas, 28x28

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