Mary Sully

James Cohan is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Mary Sully, on view from May 15 through June 27, 2026, at the gallery’s 52 Walker Street location. Curated by Jenelle Porter and organized in collaboration with the Mary Sully Foundation, this exhibition represents the first solo gallery presentation in New York of Sully’s work. The gallery will host a conversation between historian and author Philip J. Deloria, great-nephew of Mary Sully, and curator Jenelle Porter on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 PM.

In the late 1920s, Mary Sully began a series of inventive drawings she called “personality prints,” each a portrayal of a celebrity. Mixing both representative and abstract elements with sophisticated patterning, the artist merged her knowledge of modern art and design, and Native American art forms to create a dazzling body of work. Her choice of subjects, and the ways she portrayed them, highlighted the proliferating networks that characterized the modern, mechanical age.