Price range information: Hull worked mainly in oils but also produced a fair amount of watercolors. Oils can be found from $5000 to $30,000. Watercolors range from one to three thousand dollars.
Marie Hull was not only a great realist painter, but also lived a very interesting life. Marie Hull was born in Summit, Mississippi in the year 1890. In 1975 the governor declared “Marie Hull” day. Hull painted many portraits over her life and in the gallery you can see two great examples. The first is a self portrait by the artist the first painting in the gallery. The last is another wonderful portrait of Governor Lowry Bailey of Mississippi.
Hull was not only a visual artist, but also a writer and mentor to many up and coming artists of the South.
Its fascinating to me how old artists are when they realize they want it to be a career. For Hull it happened to her at the age of twenty.
Hull also studied music and practiced the piano in high school. Hull was able to learn a great deal of discipline from the daily practice, but she didn’t love music.
How come the artist was so late at choosing art for her career path? During her k – 12 years no art appreciation or education classes were given. Art was not part of the public school education curriculum.
For her collegiate studies Hull attended Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi earning a music degree. She then played the pipe organ in church services and also gave private piano lessons.
A well known painter of the region Aileen Phillips Shannon moved to Jackson and Hull was able for the first time in her life to take painting lessons! Phillips Shannon was known for her landscapes and portraits. Below is a great example of her work with the landscape.
After studying with Phillips for brief period Hull knew she wanted to become an artist. She joined a local art association that concentrated on having an annual show at the state fair. Phillips then moved away and Hull after many battles with her parents, went to Pennsylvania to study at the Academy for one year.
After some teaching at the collegiate level Hull moved to New York to study at the Art Students League.
This time when Hull returned to Mississippi she was able to make a great living using all of her skills. Not only teaching music, but she was able to establish herself as a commercial artist. She was an illustrator of childrens books.
Hull would marry an architect. Hull traveled throughout the United States in order to paint and her husband loved to follow along to study the various styles of architecture.
The thing I like most about Hull was that due to her very late development of her art skills, she didn’t want this to happen to anyone else and Hull loved to teach to children. And remember this is in the heart of the deep south, Hull even taught art to African American children.
Hull has many attributes to respect as an artist not only a great musician, but a great visual artist. And I always enjoy artists who teach young children art lessons. Hull never stopped learning as an artist, and also never stopped teaching! What a wonderful combination.
If you enjoy Marie Hull be sure and check out another great painter of birds and flowers with a colorful palette, Ann Craven. Craven was born in 1969 and below is a great example of her style of painting.
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Nancy Katherine Quin Said:
on August 16, 2015 at 11:50 pm
This is so wonderful to see, a vibrant writer telling about my great aunt, Marie Hull. She was my paternal grandmothers sister and with out children, she eagerly adopted my Dad and his family. We were so blessed to know such a gentle spirit and foremost – dedicated artist. Thank you for your reminder. Nancy the Bright Fields Exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of Art debuts September 26,2015.