STELLA SULLIVAN (1924-2017)
Stella Sullivan was born in Houston, Texas. She earned her degree in architecture from Rice Institute (now Rice University) and worked for her father in architectural drafting. She received private lessons from artist, Ola McNeill Davidson, and attended classes at Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Sullivan moved to Michigan where she studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, later transferring to the Cranbrook Academy of Art where she graduated with her master of fine arts degree. Sullivan was an instructor at the Museum School (now Glassell School) of Art, the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and the University of Delaware. She established the Stella Sullivan School of Art where she taught painting, drawing, design, and silk-screening during the 1970s. Her career as an artist and teacher in Houston spans seven decades.
Selected Biographical and Career Highlights
- 1924, Born in Houston, TX.
- 1945, Earns B.A. from Rice Institute (studies Architecture for 3 years)
- 1949-1950, Studies at Museum of Fine Arts School, Houston,
- 1950-1951, Studies at School of Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, Detroit, Michigan
- 1954, Earns MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- 1961-1970, Instructor at Museum of Fine Arts School, Houston (9 years)
- 1961-62, Instructor at Brazos Port Art League, Freeport, TX
- 1962-1966, Instructor at University of Houston; established printmaking department
- 1963, Instructor at University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware (1 summer)
- 1963-64, Instructor at Gallery 75, Conroe, TX
- 1970-71, Instructor at Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX (1 year)
- 1970-71, Instructor of workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Telluride, CO
- 1971, Opens the Stella Sullivan School of Art, Houston, TX (30 years)
- 1999-2017, Holds studio at Art Square Studios on South Main
- 2017, Dies in Houston, TX at age 93
Selected Prizes, Awards
- Houston Annual: Purchase Prize 1954; Cash Prize 1951; Honorable Mention 1953
- 1951 Cash Prize/Schlumberger Award, Still Life with Squash, oil
- 1953 Honorable Mention Purchase Prize, Eucharistic Still Life, oil
- 1954 Purchase Prize/Contemporary Arts Association, Still Life with Blue Fruit, oil
- Annual Texas Crafts: Cash Prize 1955
- 1955 Cash Prize/Decorated Fabric Award, Ceramic Line Print, silk screen (image on cover of catalogue)
- Second Prize – Houston Post 6thAnnual Easter Art Show
- First Prize, Honorable Mention and Ribbons in various Art League of Houston Shows
- Ceramic Jewelry Award – San Antonio Craft Guild Third Regional
- Honorable Mention – Fabric – International Craft Alliance – McAllen, Texas
- Honorable Mention – Acrylic painting – Rice University Alumni Association
- Honorable Mention – Drawing – Rice University Alumni Association
- Fiber Artists of Houston, Honorable Mention Printed Fabric
- Seventh Annual Texas Crafts Exhibits, Craft Guild of Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts – Decorated Fabric Award
- Craft Guild of San Antonio, Third Regional Exhibition, Witte Museum, 1962
Selected Exhibitions
- 1951 26th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (cash prize)
- 1951 13th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1951–1952, circulated: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas
- 1952 27th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- 1952 14th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1952, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- 1953 28th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (honorable mention)
- 1954 29th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (purchase prize)
- 1954 Solo, Arts and Crafts Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
- 1954 Solo, Degree Show, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- 1955 (March) 30th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- 1955 7th Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas (cash prize)
- 1955 First Annual Religious Art Show, University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas
- 1955 (December) 31st Annual Exhibition of Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
· 1955, Solo, The Playhouse Theater, Houston, Texas
- 1956 8th Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas
- 1956 Annual Art Rental Exhibit, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas
- 1957 7th Annual Houston Post Easter Art Exhibit, Houston Art League Building, Houston, Texas
- 1959–60 34–35th Annual Houston Artists Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- 1959, 1961 Solo, Rudi’s Club, Houston, Texas
- 1961 Texas Watercolor Society 12th Annual Exhibition, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas; selection circulated: Junior League, Galveston, A&M University, College Station; Dallas Public Library, Dallas; A&I College, Kingsville, Gates Gallery, Port Arthur; Wichita Falls Art Association, Wichita Falls; Waco Art Forum, Waco; Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin; Texas Western College, El Paso, Texas
- 1961, Solo, Art League Studio Tour, Houston, Texas
- 1962 Craft Guild of San Antonio 3rd Regional Exhibition, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas
- 1962, 1972 Solo, Bank of Texas, Houston, Texas
- 1962–63 Museum School Faculty Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
- 1964-65, 1967-68 Solos, Montgomery County Library, Conroe, Texas
- 1967 Sales and Rental Exhibition, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas
- 1968 Solo, Houston Baptist College, Houston, Texas
- 1968 Solo, Galleria del Mar, Freeport, Texas
- 1969 Southwest Biennale Craft Exhibit, International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- 1970-1971 Solos, Houston Public Library, Houston, Texas
- 1970 Solo, Sheridan Art Gallery, Telluride, Colorado
- 1971-72 Solo, Stella Sullivan School of Art, Houston, TX
- 1972, Solo,Stella Sullivan School of Art, Houston, TX
- 1973, Solo,Kate Frost, Houston, TX
- 1976-78, Solo, Surroundings, Houston, TX
- 1982, Solo,Ouisie’s Table, Houston, TX
- Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas
- Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
- Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
- Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont, Texas
- Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Corpus Christi Museum, Corpus Christi, TX
- Masur Art Museum, Monroe, LA
- Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
- Texas Visions, Houston, TX
- International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe, NM
- Texas Watercolor Society, San Antonio, TX
- Houston Early Texas Art Group, Fondren Library at Rice University, Houston, TX
- Houston Art in Houston Collections, The Heritage Society and CASETA
- Leslie Muth Gallery, Houston, Texas
- Lowell Collins Gallery, Houston, Texas
- 2004, Modern Madonna, Biblical Arts Museum, Dallas, TX
- 2004, Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present,David Dike Estates, Dallas, TX
- 2004–05 Rice Institute and the Visual Arts in Houston: 1900–1960, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas
- 2005 Solo, David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas
- 2006 Houston Art in Houston Collections: Works from 1900 to 1965, Heritage Society Museum, Houston, Texas
- 2006–07 Of This Vast State: Women Artists of Texas, 1900–1960, Women’s Museum, Dallas, Texas
- 2007 Now and Then: Contemporary and Early Texas Artists, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
- 2007 Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present, David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas; William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas
- 2008 Founders of Houston Art: Thirty Artists Who Led the Way, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2009 Lone Star Still Lifes, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas
- 2009 Back to the Future: Elements of “Modern” in Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2009 A Texas Sampler: Vintage Paintings by Thirty Texas Artists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2009 Texas Paper: Watercolors, Pastels and Drawings from the Lone Star State, 1938-2008, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2009-10 Texas Art Seen, Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas
- 2010 Third Anniversary Show: A Tribute to Houston Artists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2010 Pioneering Women: Three Modernists in Houston—Dorothy Hood, Leila McConnell, Stella Sullivan, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2011 Southeast Texas Art: Cross-Currents and Influences, 1925–1965, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas
- 2011 Lone Star Modernism: A Celebration of Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2011 Portrait of Houston: 1900–2011, Alliance Gallery, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston, Texas (catalogue)
- 2011 Breakthrough: Sixty Years of Texas Abstraction, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2013 Restless Heart: The Collectors’ Quest to Find Texas in Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas
- 2013 Rhythms of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2013 Summer Encore Exhibition, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2014 Houston Founders at City Hall Art Exhibition, City Hall, Houston, Texas
- 2014 A New Visual Vocabulary: Developments in Texas Modernism 1935-1965, One Allen Center, Lobby Gallery, Houston, Texas
- 2014 Lone Star Masters of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas
- 2015 Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas (catalogue)
- 2016, This WAS Contemporary Art: Fine and Decorative Arts in Houston, 1945 – 1965, Heritage Society, Houston, TX
Selected Public Collections
- Anderson, Greenwood and Company, Houston, Texas
- Bank of the Southwest, Houston, Texas
- Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Houston, Texas
- Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Houston, Texas
- St. Basil’s Church, Angleton, Texas
- St. Philip Neri Church, Houston, Texas
- Texas Institute for Research and Rehabilitation, Houston, Texas
