Sarah McEneaney (born January 31, 1955, in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is an American artist, painter, and community activist who lives and works in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Working primarily in

egg tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

her paintings are characterized by their autobiographical content, detailed brushwork, and brilliant color. McEneaney's intimate subject matter focuses on daily scenes from her home, studio, travels, and neighborhood. Her work is included in public collections such as the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

and she has received numerous grants and awards. McEneaney is also active in community work, including the formation of the Callowhill Neighborhood Association in 2001, and the co-founding of the Reading Viaduct Project in 2003.

Career

McEneaney is represented by Locks Gallery in Philadelphia and Tibor de Nagy Gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2004, the

Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum in Philadelphia. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated t ...

held a mid-career exhibition of her work accompanied by a fully illustrated publication authored by Chief Curator Ingrid Schaffner. Individual works were also discussed by 11 other contributors, including Sarah McEneaney, art historian and former

curator Susan Rosenberg, artist Sheila Pepe, and poet Nathalie Anderson. Her work is in numerous public collections including the

, Mills College Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Woodmere Art Museum, Bryn Mawr College, Nueberger Museum at SUNY Purchase, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.

Select exhibitions

*''Studio Living'' (2014) Tibor de Nagy, New York, solo exhibition *"First Look", (2013)

*''Trestletown'', (2013) Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, solo exhibition *"The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World", The

Linda Lee Alter Linda Lee Alter (born 1939) is an American visual artist who is primarily known as an art collector and philanthropist. In 2010 Alter donated five hundred artworks by American female artists to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philade ...

Collection of Art by Women,

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

*''Sarah McEneaney'', (2004)

, solo exhibition *"Memory and Mastery" (2000), List Gallery at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, solo exhibition *"Sarah McEneaney" (1990) Morris Gallery at the

, solo exhibition

Recognition

In 1993, McEneaney received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and has received subsequent grants in 2001, 2002, and 2008. In 2000, she received a prestigious Painters & Sculptors Grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. In 2007, she was honored by her alma mater with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Community work

McEneaney’s community work includes forming the Callowhill Neighborhood Association in Philadelphia with neighbors in 2001, and co-founded the Reading Viaduct Project in 2003. The goal of the project was to preserve and renovate the

Reading Viaduct The Reading Viaduct, also called The Rail Park, is a disused elevated rail line in the Callowhill district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that has been partly transformed into a rail trail. The viaduct opened on January 29, 1893, and original ...

, a stretch of abandoned railway that carried trains into Philadelphia’s

Reading Terminal The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main railroad station, station located in the Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Market East section of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City in ...

for almost 100 years, creating the neighborhood’s first park. Reading Viaduct Project merged with Friends of the Rail Park in late 2013 to form a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization advocating for the park. McEneaney continues to act on their board of directors.

References

External links

Sarah McEneaney 2004 Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia ExhibitionSarah McEneaney on artnet"Beer with a Painter"
''Hyperallergic'' interview 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:McEneaney, Sarah 1955 births Living people American women artists Artists from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni 21st-century American women