Lucia May Wiley (1906 – 1998)

34. Horses, c. early 1940s

Serigraph on paper, 11 ¼ x 19 1/8 (unframed sheet), 21 ¼ x 12 ¼ inches (matted), signed lower right, titled lower left, edition of approximately 35

SOLD

About the Artist

Lucia May Wiley was one of the most prolific female muralists of the Depression Era. She was born in 1906 in Tillamook, Oregon. From a young age, Wiley was interested in art and pursued a degree in fine art at the University of Minnesota. In 1928, she furthered her education at the University of Oregon and earned bachelor's and master’s degrees. Her master’s thesis focused on fresco techniques. Wiley completed three murals in Minnesota for the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Arts (“Section”), another for the Federal Arts Project, and yet another Section mural in 1943 for her hometown post office in Tillamook, Oregon. By the early 1950s, she was considered one of the nation’s top experts on fresco murals. After achieving significant success as a public works artist, Wiley entered an episcopal convent in New York and became a religious sister. She is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and all other standard references.