Mary Louise Proctor (American/Florida, b. 1960), "Railroad Snuff Dippers", 1995, paint on found metal door, signed and dated lower right, titled upper center, 24 in. x 51 1/4 in., unframed. Note: Mary Louise Proctor was born in Florida and raised by her grandparents. Even as a small child, she was frequently found preaching to everyone around her. Proctor worked in the nursing field and as the proprietor of a daycare before moving into the flea market business and collecting as a professional hobby. After a house fire tragically claimed the lives of her grandmother, aunt and uncle, Proctor turned to God and realized she was being instructed to paint. Her works are rooted in spiritual discovery and healing with Proctor?s vibrant figures pictured alongside insightful phrases inscribed throughout. Her first works were portraits of family members who had died in the fire, and set outside on the lawn, they caught the attention of curator and critic Tricia Collins, who purchased them for her gallery in New York. Proctor had her first one-woman show at All Saints Gallery in Tallahassee in 1995 and a year later, a one-woman show at the Tricia Collins Grand Salon in New York. Proctor frequently signs her work as ?Missionary Mary L. Proctor,? stating ?I?m going to get a message out to broken women?s, a message to help and glorify them, so men can search their hearts, learn to respect us and treat us the right way.?Ref.: Proctor, Mary. ?Mary Proctor.? Souls Grown Deep. www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Accessed May 3, 2024.

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