b. 1914 d. 2001
Site Affiliation: Mary Nohl Art Environment
Mary Nohl was an artist based in Fox Point, Wisconsin. After attending SAIC in the 1930’s she taught art in public schools before opening a pottery business in the mid 1940’s. When her parents moved full time to their cottage on Lake Michigan in Fox Point, Wisconsin, she joined them and devoted herself to art making.
Nohl’s interests were diverse, deeply inspired by the watery realm of Lake Michigan and by her global travels. She refused to be confined by artistic categorization and was omnivorous in her selection of materials and methods of making. She was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, woodcarver, writer, illustrator, cartoonist, potter, and jeweler—yet she described herself as simply “a woman who likes tools.” After her parents died, she began to alter the lake house and property, embellishing most of the surfaces inside and out and filling the yard with her large sculptural creations.
Primary Medium: Multimedia
Primary Stylistic Term: Artist Built Environment
Fun Fact: Mary Nohl left $9.6 million to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to be used for supporting artists and arts education in the Greater Milwaukee Area, with the marquee program being the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship.
Recommended Publications: In Mary’s Garden by Tina and Carson Kugler (2015)