Stacy Lynn Waddell

Stacy Lynn Waddell (b. 1966, US) is an American artist who explores the storytelling power of portraits and how society articulates its values and social hierarchies visually through portraiture. She focuses on the correspondence between art historical narratives and economic, political, and social structures, probing the contradictions and misperceptions of American culture through the allegory of her own personal story.

Waddell is the self-appointed archivist of her family and has spent many long hours researching her family’s origin story. The young woman in this photograph is the artist's maternal grandmother, Anliza Massenburg Gill, on a visit to New York City. She was a firm believer in community and family, and together with her husband Otis Gill, raised seven children, who have continued to thrive across generations at home house On-The-Hill on their treasured farm and pasture lands in North Carolina. By placing this photograph on the Façade, Waddell honors her dearly loved grandmother in a way that speaks to the lasting impact of portraiture.

Home House can be enjoyed by all on the exterior of our building on Evans Way and by ticketed visitors from inside the Museum’s walled garden. Additional works by the artist are featured in the exhibition Metal of Honor: Gold from Simone Martini to Contemporary Art on view through January 16, 2023.

Stacy Lynn Waddell (b. 1966, US) is an artist whose practice explores economic, political and social structures, and her works address the authorship and idealism of art historical narratives. She is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant, an Artist-in-Residence at Joan Mitchell Center (New Orleans), Queen Space (New York) and currently at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In Fall 2022, Waddell will be in Italy to install A Moon For A Sun at Sala1 in Rome, Italy and to take up residency in Umbria as the Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellow. She lives and works in North Carolina.

This fall, join us for a suite of programs exploring these artists’ techniques, the history of gold mining and its use as an artists’ medium, incarceration and creativity, and more. Explore our Calendar to learn more!

This is a work of public art on the exterior of our building; exhibition dates are subject to change. If you plan to visit within 3 days of the listed opening or closing dates, please contact us to confirm the work is on view.