Image: American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore
The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore is presenting ‘The Strength to Be Joyful: Messages from Mary Proctor,’ a two-year exhibition devoted to the life and work of the Southern visionary artist also known as Missionary Mary. Opened on August 2, 2025, the exhibition is installed in the third-floor gallery of the museum’s Zanvyl A. Krieger Main Building and is scheduled to remain on view through early March 2027.
The exhibition centers on Proctor’s use of salvaged materials and personal memory. Her works combine handwritten messages, broken china, house paint and assorted found objects, transforming materials associated with domestic life and flea-market collecting into densely layered compositions. The museum describes the presentation as a celebration of Proctor’s life, spirit and creative journey.
Proctor was raised by her grandmother in rural Florida. According to the exhibition text, she turned to art after a fire took her grandmother’s life and during a period of deep depression. A spiritual vision directed her to “Paint the door,” a phrase that became an important point of reference in the account of her artistic development and in the exhibition’s presentation of her work.
The museum frames Proctor’s art through themes of forgiveness, resilience, love and faith. Her own words are included in the exhibition, including the statements, “I want people to gather up what Mary brought to the world and that's joy, hope, love and peace,” and “When I create, I feel like a butterfly.” These declarations accompany works that turn written language and accumulated materials into visual statements about endurance and belief.
Among the works listed on the exhibition page are ‘Mend Us All,’ ‘Grandmas Old Blue Willow’ and ‘Woman World.’ The presentation emphasizes that Proctor’s works are not only assembled from salvaged materials but are also shaped by deeply personal memories and messages. Her practice, as described by the museum, has developed across more than 30 years.
‘The Strength to Be Joyful’ is part of the American Visionary Art Museum’s current exhibition program, which also includes presentations such as ‘Esther and the Dream of One Loving Human Family’ and the 30th-anniversary exhibition ‘Fantastic Realities: Truth Stranger than Fiction.’ Admission to the museum grants entry to all current exhibitions. The museum is located at 800 Key Highway in Baltimore, and Proctor’s exhibition remains on view in the third-floor gallery of the Zanvyl A. Krieger Main Building through early March 2027.
