Houston, Texas native, Stella Sullivan commenced her studies in Architecture at Rice University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945. She then attended classes from 1949 to 1950 at Houston Museum of Fine Arts School. From 1950 to 1951, Sullivan continued her education at the School of Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts. In 1954, she received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Sullivan taught at the Museum of Fine Arts School in Houston, the University of Houston, the University of Delaware in Newark and at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. She also led various workshops and classes in New Mexico and Colorado and established Stella Sullivan School of Art. She gave private lessons continuously throughout her career.

Sullivan has had more than twenty-seven one-woman shows including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Art and Crafts Gallery, Columbus Ohio and Houston galleries; Lowell Collins Gallery and Leslie Muth Gallery. Furthermore, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions throughout the United States including Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas; Laguna Gloria Museum, Austin, Texas; Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio, Texas and Masur Art Museum, Monroe, Louisiana.

Additionally, Sullivan has received awards at Houston Artists Exhibits: Schlumberger Award, Honorable Mention Purchase Prize and Contemporary Arts Museum Purchase Prize in Houston.

Of the institutional collections holding Sullivan's artwork are TIRR, Jefferson Davis Hospital, and Bank of the Southwest, all of Houston; Hotel Manila Intercontinental in the Philippines, and Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Education:
1954 Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, MFA
1945 Rice University, BA, (studied Architecture 3 years)
1949-50 Houston Museum of Fine Arts School,
1950-51 School of Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts
Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX
Private classes, MacNeill Davidson, Houston, TX

Teaching Experience:
Museum of Fine Arts School, Houston, TX (9 years)
University of Houston, Houston, TX (4 years)
University of Delaware, Newark, DE (summer semester)
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX (1 year)
Various adult education classes, private classes and landscape workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Telluride, CO and Houston, TX
Stella Sullivan School of Art at Rice Village in Houston: studio classes, (30 years)

Solo Exhibitions:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Montgomery County Library, Conroe, TX
Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
Houston Baptist College, Houston, TX
Lowell Collins Gallery, Houston, TX
Leslie Muth Gallery, Houston, TX
Biblical Arts Museum, Dallas, TX
Ursuline Academy, Dallas, TX
David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, TX

Group Invitational Exhibitions:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
TX Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
University of Houston, Houston, TX
Art League of Houston, Studio on Tour, Houston, TX
Laguna Gloria Museum, Austin, TX
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX
Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio, TX
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont, TX
Corpus Christi Museum, Corpus Christi, TX
Masur Art Museum, Monroe, LA
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Texas Visions, Houston, TX
International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe, NM
Texas Watercolor Society, San Antonio, TX
Houston Early Texas Art Group, Fondren Library at Rice University, Houston,
Houston Art in Houston Collections, The Heritage Society and CASETA

Awards
Houston Artists Exhibits: Schlumberger Award, Honorable Mention Purchase Prize
Contemporary Arts Museum Purchase Prize, Houston, TX

Art League of Houston, Various awards
Houston Post, Easter Art Exhibit, Second Prize
Rice University Alumni Art Shows, Houston, Honorable Mention Painting, Honorable Mention Drawing
Fiber Artists of Houston, Honorable Mention Printed Fabric
Seventh Annual Texas Crafts Exhibits, Craft Guild of Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts - Decorated Fabric Award
Craft Guild of San Antonio, Third Regional Exhibition, Witte Museum, 1962

Institutional Collections:
D.D. Feldman Collection, Dallas, TX
Texas Institute for Research and Rehabilitation, Houston, TX
Jefferson Davis Hospital, Houston, TX
Menger Hotel, San Antonio, TX
Hotel Manila Intercontinental, Manila, Philippines
Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel, Houston, TX
Bank of the Southwest, Houston, TX
New Harmony Inn, New Harmony, IN
St. Basil's Church, Angleton, TX
St. Philip Neri Church, Houston, TX
Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Houston, TX
Anderson, Greenwood and Company, Houston, TX
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Houston, TX
Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, NM

Submitted by Stephanie A. Reeves

STELLA SULLIVAN (b. 1924)

Stella Sullivan was born in Houston, Texas. She earned her degree in architecture from Rice Institute (now Rice University) and worked for her father in architectural drafting. She received private lessons from artist, Ola McNeill Davidson, and attended classes at Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Sullivan moved to Michigan where she studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, later transferring to the Cranbrook Academy of Art where she graduated with her master of fine arts degree.

Sullivan was an instructor at the Museum School (now Glassell School) of Art, the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and the University of Delaware. She established the Stella Sullivan School of Art where she taught painting, drawing, design, and silk-screening during the 1970s. Her career as an artist and teacher in Houston spans seven decades.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights

1924 Born in Houston, Texas
1945 BA, Architecture, Rice University, Houston, Texas
1949–50 Museum School, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
1950–51 Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, Detroit, Michigan
1954 MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
1961–70 Instructor, Museum School, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
Instructor: 1962–66 University of Houston, Texas; 1963 University of Delaware, Newark; 1970-71 Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas
1971–2001 Stella Sullivan School of Art, Houston, Texas
Resides in Houston, Texas
Selected Prizes, Awards

· Houston Annual: Purchase Prize 1954; Cash Prize 1951; Honorable Mention 1953

1951 Cash Prize/Schlumberger Award, Still Life with Squash, oil
1953 Honorable Mention Purchase Prize, Eucharistic Still Life, oil
1954 Purchase Prize/Contemporary Arts Association, Still Life with Blue Fruit, oil
· Annual Texas Crafts: Cash Prize 1955

1955 Cash Prize/Decorated Fabric Award, Ceramic Line Print, silk screen (image on cover of catalogue)
Selected Exhibitions

· 1951 26th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (cash prize)

· 1951 13th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1951–1952, circulated: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas

· 1952 27th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1952 14th Annual Exhibition of Texas Painting and Sculpture 1952, circulated: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Witte Museum, San Antonio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1953 28th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (honorable mention)

· 1954 Solo, Arts and Crafts Gallery, Columbus, Ohio

· 1954 29th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (purchase prize)

· 1954 Solo, Degree Show, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

· 1955 (March) 30th Annual Exhibition of Work by Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1955 7th Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas (cash prize)

· 1955 First Annual Religious Art Show, University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas

· 1955 Solo, Playhouse Theater, Houston, Texas

· 1955 (December) 31st Annual Exhibition of Houston Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1956 8th Annual Texas Crafts Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

· 1956 Annual Art Rental Exhibit, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas

· 1957 7th Annual Houston Post Easter Art Exhibit, Houston Art League Building, Houston, Texas

· 1959–60 34–35th Annual Houston Artists Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1961 Texas Watercolor Society 12th Annual Exhibition, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas; selection circulated: Junior League, Galveston, A&M University, College Station; Dallas Public Library, Dallas; A&I College, Kingsville, Gates Gallery, Port Arthur; Wichita Falls Art Association, Wichita Falls; Waco Art Forum, Waco; Texas Fine Arts Association, Austin; Texas Western College, El Paso, Texas

· 1962 Craft Guild of San Antonio 3rd Regional Exhibition, Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas

· 1962, 1972 Solo, Bank of Texas, Houston, Texas

· 1962–63 Museum School Faculty Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

· 1964-65, 1967-68 Solos, Montgomery County Library, Conroe, Texas

· 1967 Sales and Rental Exhibition, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas

· 1968 Solo, Houston Baptist College, Houston, Texas

· 1968 Solo, Galleria del Mar, Freeport, Texas

· 1969 Southwest Biennale Craft Exhibit, International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico

· 1970, 1971 Solos, Houston Public Library, Houston, Texas

· 1970 Solo, Sheridan Art Gallery, Telluride, Colorado

· Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas

· Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas

· Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan

· Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont, Texas

· Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

· 2004–05 Rice Institute and the Visual Arts in Houston: 1900–1960, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas

· 2005 Solo, David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas

· 2006 Houston Art in Houston Collections: Works from 1900 to 1965, Heritage Society Museum, Houston, Texas

· 2006–07 Of This Vast State: Women Artists of Texas, 1900–1960, Women’s Museum, Dallas, Texas

· 2007 Now and Then: Contemporary and Early Texas Artists, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

· 2007 Timeless: A Retrospective of Selected Women Artists of Texas, 1940 to Present, David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas; William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas

· 2008 Founders of Houston Art: Thirty Artists Who Led the Way, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2009 Lone Star Still Lifes, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas

· 2009 Back to the Future: Elements of “Modern” in Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2009 A Texas Sampler: Vintage Paintings by Thirty Texas Artists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2009 Texas Paper: Watercolors, Pastels and Drawings from the Lone Star State, 1938-2008, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2009-10 Texas Art Seen, Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas

· 2010 Third Anniversary Show: A Tribute to Houston Artists, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2010 Pioneering Women: Three Modernists in Houston—Dorothy Hood, Leila McConnell, Stella Sullivan, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2011 Southeast Texas Art: Cross-Currents and Influences, 1925–1965, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas

· 2011 Lone Star Modernism: A Celebration of Mid-Century Texas Art, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2011 Portrait of Houston: 1900–2011, Alliance Gallery, Houston Arts Alliance, Houston, Texas (catalogue)

· 2011 Breakthrough: Sixty Years of Texas Abstraction, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2013 Restless Heart: The Collectors’ Quest to Find Texas in Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas

· 2013 Rhythms of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2013 Summer Encore Exhibition, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2014 Houston Founders at City Hall Art Exhibition, City Hall, Houston, Texas

· 2014 A New Visual Vocabulary: Developments in Texas Modernism 1935-1965, One Allen Center, Lobby Gallery, Houston, Texas

· 2014 Lone Star Masters of Modernism, William Reaves Fine Art, Houston, Texas

· 2015 Bayou City Chic: Progressive Streams of Modern Art in Houston, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas (catalogue)

Selected Public Collections

Anderson, Greenwood and Company, Houston, Texas
Bank of the Southwest, Houston, Texas
Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Houston, Texas
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Houston, Texas
St. Basil’s Church, Angleton, Texas
St. Philip Neri Church, Houston, Texas
Texas Institute for Research and Rehabilitation, Houston, Texas