Hilary Doyle

Hilary Doyle is an artist, teacher, and curator from Worcester, Massachusetts. Through her art, Doyle explores issues of women’s autonomy, motherhood, and nature—and the potent intersections between them.

For this installation, Doyle will exhibit paintings from her newest series exploring the life of Maria Sibylla Merian (German, 1647–1717). Merian—an artist, mother, and scientist—was a pioneering ecologist and one of the most significant early contributors to entomology (the study of insects). She was among the first to study butterfly metamorphosis, which she documented in exquisitely detailed drawings and self-published books. She is also believed to have been the first European woman to travel to the Americas in the pursuit of science, which she did independently and with her youngest daughter in tow. She taught her daughters to be artists as well, and in the latter years of her life ran a successful studio with them. Doyle reflects, “As an artist and mother of two young children studying an artist/mother of two living three centuries ago, I notice similar struggles working mothers still face today. Each story and myth about Maria is a source of hope and strength as I paint. In an increasingly oppressive world, we can find guidance and inspiration in the stories of women who succeeded against all odds.”

Doyle (American, born 1985) received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She co-founded and teaches for the NYC Crit Club, an alternative program offering community, connection, and critique to artists post BFA and MFA, as well as self-taught artists. Doyle teaches at the College of the Holy Cross.