Dorothy Gillespie, The Joyful Looking Glass, 2001, enamel on aluminum, 88 × 108 × 6 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by Miriam Tyler Sample in honor of Bonnie Tyler Spradling and in memory of Russell Paul Brannon, 2001.06.33. © Estate of Dorothy Gillespie.
“I think I have had tremendous joy. Sometimes I have ecstasy while I’m working. I feel very fortunate to have that. That means I’m totally in touch with the glorious things when I’m painting. I’ve had a fabulous life.”
~ Dorothy Gillespie
(in a 2005 interview with WCBS NewsRadio 880am)
Dorothy Gillespie (1920-2012) was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and wanted to be an artist from a very young age. She worked as a commercial artist for a short period of time, then ran a restaurant (she also designed restaurants).
She is best known for her distinctive, brightly colored metal abstractions. Gillespie has been commissioned to create permanent sculptures in places such as the Lafayette Museum of Art, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Conference Center, and at the United States Mission to the United Nations.
Her work is in many collections across the United States, including the Delaware Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her sculptures can also be found in the Frankfurt Museum in Germany and the Tel Aviv Museum in Israel.
This work is currently on view in the Museum’s Perspective Café.
