Mary Sully: A Reclamation

For decades, the work of Native American artist Mary Sully remained unseen by almost anyone beyond her family.

Historian Philip Deloria, Sully’s great-nephew, shares how a discovery in his family’s basement brought this great artist’s work to light.

Gallery view from Mary Sully: Native Modern. Five drawings with vibrant colors and geometric patterns line a wall.

Gallery view from Mary Sully: Native Modern in Gallery 746 North in the American Wing. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. July 2024


Two tintype portraits in black and white
Will Wilson's photography, rooted in his upbringing on the Navajo Nation, intertwines the past, present, and future of Indigenous cultural practices.
Patricia Marroquin Norby
January 25, 2024
A variety of Indigenous pots made with clay in front of a bright sky blue background
Video
Delve into the spirit of Pueblo pottery and hear from community leaders, curators, artists, and collaborators on The Met’s first-ever, community-curated Native American exhibition, Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery.
October 13, 2023
The screen depicts four people on a video call with each other.
Video
Join featured artists and the curator of the exhibitions “Water Memories” and “Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection” for a conversation exploring the significance of water to diverse Indigenous peoples and Nations in the United States, as expressed through historical, modern, and contemporary art. Delve into the artists’ artistic processes while examining the ongoing work to protect water and land, aesthetic activism, and the unique challenges contemporary Indigenous artist-activists face.
June 12, 2023
More in:Native American and Indigenous Heritage

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Fiorello La Guardia (1882–1947), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, wax crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Eugene Field (1850–1895), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, wax crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Gertrude Stein (1874–1946), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, pastel crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Babe Ruth (1895–1948), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, wax crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Alice, Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, wax crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Lunt & Fontanne (Alfred Lunt, 1892–1977, and Lynn Louise Fontanne, 1887–1983), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, wax crayon, ink, and graphite on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Claudette Colbert (1903–1996), Mary Sully  Native American, Colored pencil, black ink, gilt, white paint, and pastel crayon on paper, Dakota
Mary Sully
ca. 1920s–40s
Portrait of the Artist, Thomas Sully  American, Oil on canvas, American
Thomas Sully
1821
Queen Victoria, Thomas Sully  American, Oil on canvas, American
Thomas Sully
1838
Mrs. John Biddle (Eliza Falconer Bradish), Thomas Sully  American, Oil on canvas, American
Thomas Sully
1818
Mrs. Katherine Matthews, Thomas Sully  American, Oil on canvas, American
Thomas Sully
1812–13