Art Gallery Features Missouri Artist Dorothy Wirtz

Born and educated in the Midwest, Wirtz (1915-2013) was unstoppable at a time when few opportunities were afforded to women in academia. She earned a Ph.D. in French in 1944. Despite facing considerable obstacles, she became a professor of French and a published poet and scholar.

Alongside her teaching, Wirtz found time to develop her own style of expressive painting that drew from the current movements of surrealism and abstract expressionism. These paintings have remained largely unseen until now.

Throughout her life, Wirtz was constantly engaging with art and sought to impress in others a love for creativity and culture.