Abbott, Mary Lee, 1921-2019

Mary Lee Abbott (July 27, 1921 – August 23, 2019)[1] was an American artist, known as a member of the New York School of abstract expressionists in the late 1940s and 1950s.[2] Her abstract and figurative work were also influenced by her time spent in Saint Croix and Haiti, where she lived off and on throughout the 1950s. Abbott was born in New York City, where she attended the Chapin School.[3] Her family lineage traces back to John Adams, the second president of the United States.[3] Her mother, Elizabeth Grinnell, was a poet and syndicated columnist with Hearst newspapers.[4] Her family would spend time in the summer in Southampton, New York in Long Island.[5]

She was a student of artist George Grosz, while attending the Art Students League of New York. After World War II, Abbott began seriously pursuing a career the art world and she joined the "Downtown Group", which represented a group of artists who lived in lower Manhattan She died at age 98 on August 23, 2019, of heart failure.[1][6]