Overview
- Mary Lovelace O’Neal died Sunday in Mérida, Mexico, with Jenkins Johnson and Marianne Boesky confirming the news Wednesday.
- Known for her Lampblack paintings, she rubbed soot-black pigment into canvas to explore blackness, flatness, and presence, then traced fine lines of color across the dense surface.
- She taught for decades at UC Berkeley, becoming the first Black woman to earn tenure in its Department of Art Practice in 1985 and later serving as chair before retiring in 2006.
- Institutional attention surged late in her career, with works in the 2024 Whitney Biennial, recent acquisitions by major museums, and a survey at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on view through August 6.
- Her life joined art and activism, from co-founding Howard University’s Non‑Violent Action Group with Stokely Carmichael to travel-shaped series like Whales Fucking and Panthers in My Father’s Palace, and she is survived by her husband, artist Patricio Moreno Toro.