Ville Franche de Mer

Watercolor on paper, signed and dated: “(19)58”.

Painting size: 15”x20”
Unframed
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Born in Vermelles, France, Tabary was an accomplished painter, designer, illustrator and educator. Her relationship with Washington, DC began when she met Lois Mailou Jones in France in 1937 at the Academie Julien. They became lifelong friends, and, by 1945, Tabary was teaching at Howard University in Washington, DC.

She exhibited widely both in France and the United States. The Salon des Artistes Française, Paris; Institute of Modern Art, Boston; National Academy of Design; Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington, DC; and Howard University, Washington, DC were among the many venues at which her work was shown. In addition, she held memberships in art organizations on both sides of the Atlantic belonging to the Washington Watercolor Club and Artists Guild of Washington in the United States and Societe des Artistes Lillois in France.

Of historical importance, was the role Tabary played in breaking the color barrier at the Corcoran Gallery. In 1941, she delivered Lois Mailou Jones’s entry to an invitational show. The work went on the receive the top award of the Society of Washington Artists before anyone realized Jones was an African-American.