Mary Jane Nelson, 67, a Chicago and southwestern Michigan artist, had her paintings hung in museums, galleries and boardrooms from San Diego to Massachusetts. Her specialty was abstract expressionism.
A resident of North Lake Shore Drive and of Lakeside, Mich., she died Thursday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“A solo show by Mary Jane Nelson reveals the Lakeside artist knows what she’s doing with abstract expressionism,” a South Bend Tribune critic wrote. “. . . Nelson, obviously a mature artist, knows how to combine vitality and subtlety in her paintings. Layers and echoes of forms and colors suggest depths that appear and reappear.”
Mrs. Nelson had solo shows at the Center for the Arts in Michigan City and at the Matrix Gallery in Chicago. She won best in show in abstract painting from the North Shore Art League.
Survivors include her husband, David H., a son, David L.; a daughter, Andrea Murphy; and two grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held 3 p.m. Saturday in Lakeside Cemetery in Lakeside, Mich.
