AUSTIN, TX.- The Austin Museum of Art announced a $50,000 gift in honor of Mary McIntyre Malott, an influential local artist and former trustee. The gift comes from her daughters Barbara McIntyre, Carolyn White, and Sylvia McIntyre-Crook. A new painting studio will be dedicated in honor of this gift.

The dedication of the painting studio is a fitting commemoration for a woman who in the 1960s helped shape and perpetuate what was then known as Laguna Gloria Art Museum, serving as a volunteer director, trustee, docent, art teacher and annual exhibitor at Fiesta. In her daughters’ words, “Mary returns in spirit to continue her support for local Austin art in the form of a memorial dedication of the new painting studio at AMOA-Laguna Gloria in her honor.”

In April of 2008, the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria successfully expanded its facilities, including two new state-of-the-art studios and a Gatehouse Visitors Center that features an Art School Gallery, Café Laguna, and Museum Store.

Malotts commitment to the arts was evident throughout her lifetime. She grew up as an artist, attended art school and won several accolades for her work. Through her many years in Austin from 1957 to 1982, Malott continued as a professional artist as she influenced the development of art in Austin. In addition to her devotion of time and expertise to Laguna Gloria in the mid ‘60s, she taught art classes at Huston-Tillotson College and Concordia University.

By 1991, signs of Malott’s Alzheimer’s were emerging, yet she continued her work. She stopped painting by 1994. Malott’s daughter Carolyn would visit weekly with her own young daughters, Audrey and Eve. In 1995, when the girls were drawing with Craypas, Malott joined in and drew a portrait of granddaughter Eve. With the encouragement of her family, Malott did a series of 20 portraits in Craypas over a six month period. This is a poignant and revealing series that shows her abilities to perceive, despite her declining aptitude. Malott died of Alzheimer’s disease on January 21, 2008. For more information about Malott, please visit www.amoa.org/marymalott.