Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Smith, Mary T. |
Notes |
Mary Tillman Smith was born in 1904 in Brookhaven, Mississippi. She grew up in the town of Martinville where she worked on her family's farm with her twelve brothers and sisters. Though she attended school until fifth grade, Smith suffered from a serious hearing impediment that made it difficult for others to understand her speech; with these hardships, she eventually found an outlet in drawing. In her teenage years, she left her family home and was married for two months before discovering her husband's infidelities. Afterward, she moved to work for a family in Wesson, Mississippi, and there she met and married a sharecropper named John Smith. This marriage ended as well, this time due to Mary's standing her ground in a pay dispute. Smith's boss, instead of correcting his mistake, told John to send Mary away. Mary then moved to Hazlehurst and worked as a domestic servant and gave birth to her only child, Sheridan L. Major, in 1941. She did not marry her child's father, but he provided them with a house situated on the main road through the city. Around this house, Smith began to find discarded items that she could bring back home to use in the creation of a sculpture-like tapestry along her fence. As her hearing worsened, Smith remained at her house more often, and created more paintings and sculptures, typically having to do with religion and nature. Her art often embodied her personal feelings about herself, her life, and current events seen through patterns and careful artistic planning. Smith painted for approximately 15 years until her death in August 1995, at the age of 91. |
Nationality |
American |
