Christine McCormick (American, 1938–1994)

Christine McCormick was born into a prominent Baltimore family. She was diagnosed as both mildly intellectually disabled and mentally ill, and was committed to Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, Maryland, as a young teenager. In her early twenties, she developed a pointillist technique of painting in which she created small dots by stripping her paintbrush down to just two or three hairs. Sometimes she would use this technique for an entire composition, while at other times she would combine pointillist areas with the flat, rather spare style seen in the work in this exhibition. While the work seen here is on paper, McCormick often painted on materials such as paper plates, which she salvaged from the hospital, and old cigar boxes. Frequent subjects included flowers, animals, and pretty women. Towards the end of her life, Christine was released to supervised independent living in town; she continued to make her art even after declining physical health caused her to live in a nursing home.