Artist Kellar Mahaney has gone from hiding her gender to being known nationwide
By Abby Walton
In the 1950s, a young girl named Edie Kellar went to Wittenberg University in Ohio with dreams of becoming an artist. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and went on to Ohio State University where she got her Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Painting.
After getting married, Kellar continued painting. As more people noticed her work, they encouraged her to enter some contests. Kellar would later tell her daughter, Lolly, she was afraid people wouldn’t like her paintings because they were done by a woman. At this point in history, the feminist movement was in its infancy and male, abstract painters like Jackson Pollack, were all the rage.
“She wanted people to base their judgments solely on her work. So, she took her maiden and married names and came up with her painting name, Kellar Mahaney. That way people wouldn’t know if the artist was a man or a woman,” her daughter, Lolly Mahaney, said.
From that point, Kellar Mahaney would continue to show her art and win several awards, becoming an accomplished painter. But when she moved to Zionsville in the 70s, her painting took a backseat. She founded the Munce Art Center and later became executive director of the SullivanMunce Cultural Center. After retiring in 2001, Mahaney had more time to paint, so Lolly said her father built a studio above their house.
“As mom’s work started to really develop, I wanted to start a gallery to showcase her art,” Lolly said.
With her own experience running art galleries, Lolly opened a space in 2008.
“Mom said she was OK with me opening a gallery as long as she wasn’t the only artist,” Lolly said.
So after a few years housing her mother’s work as well as other regional artists, Lolly said she thought her mother had enough work to have a space of her own. So in 2011, the Kellar Mahaney Gallery opened at 115 S. Main St.
“I love witnessing people walk into the gallery and saying, ‘Wow look at that’ or ‘These paintings are so joyful,’” she said.
manages her mother’s gallery at 115 S.
Main St. (Photo by Jillyann Burns)
This display of happiness really comes from the vibrant colors of her mother’s work.
“I usually am inspired by the simple but beautiful aspects of my surroundings – my husband Jack’s garden, a reflection on my blue kitchen counter, flowers sent from family or friends, or my son Jackson’s pottery – the things that give me deep joy. Also music! I listen to jazz and classical in the studio and my favorites are Bill Evans and Edward Elgar,” Kellar said. “Color always inspires me and I am so happy to know that it inspires others.”
It’s this inspiration that got Lolly and her mother thinking about turning Kellar Mahaney into a brand name.
“We started looking at how her canvases would transfer over to digital prints and they worked,” Lolly said.
The prints did so well that a company licensed Mahaney’s work and now makes digital prints to sell in national retailers like Z Gallerie and World Market.
“It’s amazing to go into a story and see mom’s work,” Lolly said.
From there, the mother and daughter duo used the computer to see how the paintings would look as fabric to cover a pillow or linens for a table.
“I am thrilled and excited with the whole process because we can now reach such a wide audience,” Kellar said. “I am also content because I paint for my own artistic pleasure. Since I come from a fine art background, it pleases me to see how beautifully my paintings translate to other decorative applications such as fabrics.”
According to her daughter, Edie Kellar Mahaney has always been a forward thinking woman.
“I love how committed she is to each piece and how serious she takes her work. Her art really is timeless,” Lolly said.
As is Edie herself. Lolly said her mom doesn’t like telling her age, but for a woman to still be painting huge canvases in her early eighties, now that’s something to celebrate. It proves if you keep doing something you’re passionate about, you never grow old. The Kellar Mahaney gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. There, you can find Kellar Mahaney originals, prints and a small batch of fabrics that are produced locally for the Gallery Pillow Collection.
For Lolly Mahaney, taking her mother’s work to the next level is truly a labor of love.
“I get to work in a place I love, with people I love,” she said.
Her mother agrees.
“It is just the perfect situation! I adore her, she is my best girlfriend, she’s so professional and accomplished and we have a wonderful time working creatively together,” she said.
As for Keller Mahaney, it’s been more than 60 years since that girl from Ohio thought she had to hide her identity to achieve her dreams. A lot has changed since then and now, with the help of family, Edie’s dream is a reality that women and men can appreciate. If you’d like to learn more about the Kellar Mahaney gallery, go to www.kellarmahaney.com or look them up on Facebook.