timeline of Gatewood’s Life & Career

COMPILED BY BELLA SOLLOSI

1930–1940

1934

Maud Florance Gatewood is born on January 8 in Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina, in the Graves-Florance-Gatewood home. She was the first and only child of Sheriff John Yancey Gatewood and Mary Lea Florance Gatewood.

1930

  • Mary Lea Florance marries John Yancey Gatewood in Greensboro, NC.

    • Image: Marriage announcement of Mr. & Mrs. Gatewood

“As a girl, she often rode shotgun with her father on patrols or moonshine still busts -- carrying a leather holster and toy gun. On a pony her father gave her, she found freedom beyond her picket-fence town, riding out to the farms and forests where she developed her lifelong appreciation for nature that constantly showed up in her work.”

–David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer

1941–1950

1950

  • Graduated Bartlett Yancey High School at age 16 after skipping two grades, demonstrating her early intellectual capabilities.

    • Image: Morning Worship Program, May 21, 1950, The Presbyterian Church of Yanceyville, featuring Gatewood’s graduation announcement in the upper right.

  • Entered the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now University of North Carolina at Greensboro), where she immersed herself in the art community.

1945

Began art classes at Averett College, Danville, VA, under the guidance of Carson Davenport, who recognized her talent and encouraged her development.

1951–1960

1953

  • Awarded the North Carolina Federation of Women's Club Scholarship, a testament to her growing reputation in the arts community.

1952–1953

  • Attended Burnsville School of Fine Arts and visited Black Mountain College, which exposed her to avant-garde art movements and broadened her artistic horizons.

    • Image: Page from Gatewood’s 1951–1952 sketchbook with a cartoon of the human skeleton and small abstract studies.

1954

  • Worked as a student assistant at the Weatherspoon Art Gallery, where she gained firsthand experience in managing and curating art exhibitions.

  • Graduated with a B.A. in Art from Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina.

    • Image: Art historical report submitted by Gatewood in her final undergraduate year, an analysis of Heinrich Wolfflin’s “Principles of Art History.”

“Primary choice governs and limits further choice…One fundamental outlook eliminates, to varying degrees, the acceptance of other contradictory ideas…All works of art are, in the fundamental sense, limited or they could not have been created.”

–Maud Gatewood, “Painting: Theory, Choice, Practice,” Graduate Thesis

1955

  • Received M.A. in painting from Ohio State University. While in Columbus, she designed wallpaper for Columbus Coated Fabrics, blending art with practical design.

  • Became an instructor at Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama, where she began her formal teaching career.

1957

  • Attended Harvard summer school for graduate coursework in art history, studying classics with Otto J. Brendel and the history of collecting with Francis Henry Taylor

1958

  • Her work was chosen for the “Painting of the Year” competition and the “Southeastern Artists Annual” at High Museum of Art, both Atlanta, GA.

1959–1962

  • Taught at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, where she influenced many young artists.

1961–1970

1964–1973

  • Taught in the Creative Arts Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, coordinated the program, and was instrumental in shaping the new department’s direction.

1962

  • Won Fulbright grant to study in Europe and North Africa, an experience that profoundly influenced her work. Studied under Oskar Kokoschka in Salzburg, Austria, who was known for his expressionist portraits and landscapes.

  • Offered her first solo exhibition at Austin Galleries, Austin, TX

1964–1975

  • Lived and worked in Charlotte, NC, where her painting continued to evolve, particularly her landscape paintings through the development of her “cut-out” body of work.

  • Most of her exhibited images throughout this period were landscapes without figures, reflecting her continued relationship with the land and strategies for depicting it.

1971–1980

1975

  • Moved back to the Triad where she bought and restored historic Longwood home near Milton, NC, with Dr. Bee Gatling, reflecting her interest in historic preservation and deepening her ties to her local heritage.

  • Began teaching part-time at Averett College, Danville, VA, and later served as a Professor and Department Coordinator, where she continued to mentor young artists.

  • Solo presentation at Hof Gallery, Palm Beach, FL, whose co-owner was Gatewood’s later longtime gallerist Dot Hodges.

  • Solo presentation at McNeal Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

1973

  • Traveled to India and Nepal, which enriched her artistic perspective, but contracted hepatitis and returned to Yanceyville to recuperate.

1977

  • Was given a solo presentation at the Danville Museum of Art and History, cementing her status as a significant regional artist.

1976

  • Exhibited in the North Carolina Museum of Art’s “Bicentennial Show,” contributing to the celebration of the nation's 200th anniversary.

  • Elected as the first female member of Caswell County Board of Commissioners, later serving as chairman in 1979. She was a trailblazer in her community, balancing her rigorous studio practice with public service.

  • Appointed to the Executive Committee, North Carolina Arts Council Board of Directors

  • Solo presentation at Heath Gallery, Atlanta, GA

1978

  • Sold Longwood and lived in Yanceyville and Danville while building a new home near Yanceyville. Now in her 40s, Maud would live and work in her hometown for much of the rest of her life.

  • Traveled extensively in Central Europe including visits to Luxembourg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Frankfort, Zurich, and Salzburg.

  • Solo presentation at Martin Wiley Gallery, Nashville, TN.

1979

  • Included in the group exhibition “5 NC Artists” at Green Hill Gallery, now GreenHill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC.

  • Successfully applies for the inaugural award cycle of the Individual Artist Fellowship Grant with the NC Arts Council.

1980

  • Successfully applies for the inaugural award cycle of the Individual Artist Fellowship Grant with the NC Arts Council.

  • Travels to Greece and Egypt.

1981–1990

1985

  • Travels to China, Japan, Rome, and Vienna

1981–1985

  • Gatewood begins including figures in her paintings for the first time since 1967.

  • Gatewood begins exhibiting extensively across the Southeast with increasing solo presentations and awards.

    • Venues include Hodges Taylor Gallery, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Richmond Museum, Somerhill Gallery, Greenville County Museum of Art, Cumberland Gallery, and Mississippi State University.

    • Image: “Local Exhibit Shows Gatewood At The Top Of Her Game,” Richard Maschal, The Charlotte Observer, December 11, 1983.

1986

  • Begins using stencil grids and sgraffito (or combing) techniques that become a hallmark of her later oeuvre.

  • Travels to the south of France.

1987

  • Earns the North Carolina Poster Award for the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival.

    • Image: Asheville Citizen Times, June 28, 1987

1987–1988

  • Gatewood completes five corporate and public commissions for Breakers Row II, Palm Beach, FL; Winston’s Restaurant, Raleigh, NC; Kenan Center, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Admiral’s Club, American Airlines Terminal, RDU International Airport; Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, Research Triangle Park, NC.

    • Image: Early Morning Early June (Six-Panel Polyptych), 1988, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 307 in. (152.4 x 779.78 cm.). Gift of art from GSK. BRAHM Permanent Collection 2024.002.001

1988–1998

  • Gatewood hires her student Charles Parker Boggs as a studio assistant.

1989

  • Nine from North Carolina exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C opens in April. Travels to North Carolina in May 1990.

  • Travels to Morocco, Singapore, Sumatra, and Java.

1990

  • Travels to Kenya, Botswana, and Madagascar.

1991–2000

1993

  • Honored by the University of North Carolina with one of four postal cachet commissions created to celebrate the bicentennial of the University of North Carolina

  • Travels to Turkey, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

1991

  • Carillon Importers, Ltd.—the sole U.S. distributor of Absolut Vodka—commissiones51 artists to execute a "state portrait" that incorporated their iconic bottle. The successful campaign featured regional artists and ran in USA Today throughout 1992 and 1993. Gatewood was selected to represent North Carolina. Each original painting was made available to collectors as a print in a limited edition run, raising money for HIV/AIDS research. Gatewood chose to portray "that big Carolina moon through the pines” in the April 22, 1993 issue of USA Today.

    • The original painting was included in the rehanging of the exhibition at the Spiritmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden in 2024.

  • Travels to Russia.

1995

  • Retires from teaching, focusing fully on her painting and community involvement.

1994

  • Travels to Scotland and the Orkney Islands.

  • A large-scale retrospective exhibit of Gatewood’s work, curated by Robert Hobbs, opens at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro's Weatherspoon Art Museum in April of 1994. Accompanied by a full color catalog the exhibit traveled to five museums throughout the South

    • Image: Cover of Maud Gatewood: Re-Visions (1994, University of Washington Press).

1999

  • Gatewood is awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

2000

  •  Fundraising begins for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas, a documentary of the artist’s life conceived of by Carlyle Poteat after running into Gatewood in a grocery store.

2001–present

2004

  • Dies in Durham, NC at Hospice Home of Alamance-Caswell. She had suffered two strokes recently and been unable to communicate. She was 70.

    • Image: Plan drawing for Gatewood’s final unfinished painting. The partial canvas can be viewed at the Richmond-Miles Museum in Yanceyville, NC.

2001–2004

  • Production begins on Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas and takes nearly three years to complete. Gatewood was able to view the completed film, but suffered her first stroke five days prior to its official premier at the North Carolina Museum of Art. She was hospitalized and never returned home.

    • Image: Cover design for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas including a Gatewood’s painting The Blue Raft (1981).

2005

  • An exhibition of her work, From Memory: Maud Gatewood, opens at the Cameron Art Museum, illustrating how the artist skillfully moved from the subject of figure to landscape to express isolation, loss and hope.

2010

  • The Maud Gatewood Studio Arts Building is named in her honor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, ensuring her legacy would continue to inspire future generations of artists.

    • Image: The Maud Gatewood Studio Arts Building, UNCG, Centerbrook Architects

2015

  • The exhibition Remembering Maud Gatewood: A Selection of Her Paintings travels to various North Carolina museums, beginning at the Weatherspoon Art museum.

  • The Maud Gatewood Trail is dedicated in Yanceyville, honoring her contributions to the community and her love of nature.

2016

Gatewood Legacy Foundation is established.

2024

  • The Hard Edge & The Soft Line: A Retrospective of Maud Gatewood opens at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum on June 28. This accompanying digital catalog becomes available to the public on August 4.