Mary McCleary: Six Decades of Collage and Teaching in East Texas
Mary McCleary, a prominent collage artist from Houston, was born in 1951. She taught at Stephen F. Austin State University for three decades, from 1975 until 2005. McCleary's artwork has been showcased in prestigious venues, including the Dallas Museum of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She earned her degree from Texas Christian University and continued her studies at the University of Oklahoma. Typically, her collages, often inspired by her architectural interests and family, take three to four months to complete. Her latest exhibition will occur at Untitled Art in Houston, scheduled for October 2-4, 2026.
Key facts
- Mary McCleary was born in Houston in 1951 and has spent most of her career in East Texas.
- She taught at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches from 1975 to 2005.
- Her work has been exhibited at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
- She studied at Texas Christian University and the University of Oklahoma, focusing on etching, drawing, lithography, and silkscreen.
- She has made six prints with Flatbed Press in Austin.
- A typical 22-by-30-inch collage takes three to four months; one recent work of that size took eight, and her largest pieces can take fifteen months.
- She uses truth, goodness, and beauty as standards for evaluating her work.
- Her work will be featured at Untitled Art, Houston from October 2-4, 2026, in Moody Gallery's booth.
Entities
Artists
- Mary McCleary
- David Conn
- Peter Milton
- Henry David Thoreau
- Emily Dickinson
- Edward Hopper
- William Nicholson
- Winslow Homer
- John Koch
- Lucian Freud
- Stanley Spencer
- Isabel Allende
- Phillip Johnson
- Tennessee Williams
- William Faulkner
- Rufus Lovett
Institutions
- Stephen F. Austin State University
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
- National Museum of Women in the Arts
- Dallas Museum of Art
- San Antonio Museum of Art
- Texas Christian University
- Maryland Institute of Art
- University of Oklahoma
- Flatbed Press
- Moody Gallery
- Gensler
- Untitled Art, Houston
- Houston Museum of Fine Arts
- Glasstire
Locations
- Houston
- United States
- East Texas
- Nacogdoches
- Texas
- Austin
- Lexington
- Maryland