Mary Ladish Selander

Mary is an artist in Chicago, Illinois who is an oil painter and photographer. 

After receiving her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied under Eleanor Moty and Fred Fenster, Mary continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned her MA in Art History.

Mary started her career in fundraising and management for several artistic institutions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then moved to Chicago to become Chief Development Officer at Lyric Opera Chicago. After 23 years of managing Lyric’s development team and leading record-breaking fundraising campaigns, Mary has returned to her true passion as an artist. Recently, she has studied under Helen Oh and Michael Van Zeyl. 

In 2021 she mounted a one-person exhibition at The Drawing Room Gallery in Three Oaks, Michigan. More recently, her paintings have been exhibited at The Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida where she won First Place in the 2024 juried show.