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Hilary Doyle

@hilaryldoyle

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Online solo @cactusmoonstudio Oct 6. Worcester MA + Solo: The Stolen Tulip @andersonyezerskigallery in Boston, opening on Nov 6th

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Here is a picture of Maria Sibylla Merian: Autonomy (After Fragonard’s Return of the drove). 18x 24 inches, Acrylic on panel. Maria Sibylla Merian left her husband to join a Labadist community and he tried to come get her to return home at one point. Labadists maintained livestock in their self-sufficient communal lifestyle. Records show they raised cows and sheep. The painting imagines the moment Graff asks Maria to come home but their marriage was said to be unhappy and she refused - allowing her life as an artist to flourish instead. My personal theory is she left him to maintain her freedom as an artist, rather than continue a traditional life inhibited by domestic demands placed on her by her husband. ——-This painting showed recently in Homages at @concordart - Curated by @crystallelacouture! by @hilaryldoyle

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5 months ago

Celebrated my birthday today and Dot turned one a few days ago too. The day had a rough start with sick and screaming kiddos but was nice by the end with flowers, cake, and a drawing from Theo where I am mostly a heart with a little head on top lol. We also went hiking this weekend which was so rejuvenating. Well wishes notes today from friends were so appreciated (thank you everyone!). 🎉🎊🎁 by @hilaryldoyle

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9 months ago

Honored to have these two paintings on view at @worcesterartmuseum now until November. Thank you to Samantha Cataldo @sam___cat and the @worcesterartmuseum for including me as part of the Central Massachusetts Artists Initiative. I will be doing a talk on my work there August 3rd, 2pm- more info soon to come on this! by @hilaryldoyle

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a year ago

Throughout the exhibition, Doyle also reflects on influence, inheritance and historical disappearance. Her work considers how Merian’s imagery fed into later stalwarts of design and decoration, such as Victorian polymath William Morris.

Whether as direct influence or broader visual afterlife, the point is clear: women’s contributions often shape culture without recognition. Doyle’s project seeks to reverse that process, restoring Merian not just to visibility but to cultural centrality.

‘My dream,’ Doyle says, ‘is that maybe Merian will get weaved back into the future.’

HILARY DOYLE
Maria Sibylla Merian: In Flight, 2024-2025
Acrylic on canvas
152.4 x 122 cm. / 60 x 48 in.

#CactusMoonStudio #ContemporaryArt #OnlineExhibition by @hilaryldoyle

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7 days ago

Cactus Moon Studio is delighted to present Investigating Maria Sibylla Merian, a body of paintings by Massachusetts-based artist Hilary Doyle, inspired by the extraordinary life of 17th-century German artist, naturalist, and pioneering entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), launching today, October 6, 2026.

Link in bio to view the show.

#CactusMoonStudio #ContemporaryArt #HilaryDoyle by @hilaryldoyle

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8 days ago

Hilary Doyle creates evocative paintings that weave together history, nature, motherhood, and imagination. Inspired by the extraordinary life of Maria Sibylla Merian, her work reimagines the pioneering artist and naturalist through dreamlike scenes of curiosity, discovery, and transformation.

Coming soon to Cactus Moon Studio.

Investigating Maria Sibylla Merian
6 October - 3 November 2026

#CactusMoonStudio #HilaryDoyle #ContemporaryArt by @hilaryldoyle

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13 days ago

Maria Sibylla Merian- contemplating her journey across the ocean (After Caspar David Fredrich’s Wanderer above the sea fog)
Collaged paper: watercolor, baby oatmeal, guerra acrylic paint, marker, colored pencil, glue, on paper, 15×12 inches, 2026.

Starting to post new work again! When Dot was starting solids, I started making collage sheets with paint and baby food in many colors and this summer I finally finished some collages with them. Anyway I was hoping these could reinvigorate and help break my paintings into abstract shapes more but maybe they are also their own thing. Question how should i display these if I were to show them? by @hilaryldoyle

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2 months ago

Detail of a new painting! Autonomy (After Fragonard’s Return of the drove). 18x 24 inches, Acrylic on panel. Maria Sibylla Merian left her husband to join a Labadist community and he tried to come get her to return home at one point. Labadists maintained livestock in their self-sufficient communal lifestyle. Records show they raised cows and sheep. The painting imagines the moment Graff asks Maria to come home but their marriage was said to be unhappy and she refused - allowing her life as an artist to flourish instead. My personal theory is she left him to maintain her freedom as an artist, rather than continue a traditional life inhibited by domestic demands placed on her by her husband. ——-This painting will be showing soon in Homages at @concordart - opens 5:30 Thursday April 2nd! Curated by @crystallelacouture! by @hilaryldoyle

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7 months ago

Title: Maria Sibylla Merian: Working with child, egg tempera on clay board panel, 9x12 inches, 2026 - now on view @concordart curated by @crystallelacouture ! by @hilaryldoyle

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6 months ago

Title - Maria Sibylla Merian: Searching, 9x12 inches, acrylic on wood panel, 2025
Maria and her daughters painted so many hundreds of insects that they must have continued their search for caterpillars and butterfly specimens together after her daughters grew up. by @hilaryldoyle

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9 months ago

Maria Sibylla Merian: The stollen tulip legend. 9x12 inches, 2025.
In Kim Todd’s book “Chrysalis”, she recounts a legend that when Maria was young, she stole a tulip from a neighbors yard and the neighbor came after her (this was shortly after tulip mania a time when Tulips were very valuable). The story goes that when the neighbor came after Maria at her home she gave an exquisite drawing of the tulip as an apology for the stollen flower. The drawing was so impressive that she was immediately forgiven. by @hilaryldoyle

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8 months ago

Maria Sibylla Merian: Observing Metamorphosis, acrylic and pearlescent paint on canvas, 2024-2025. “Maria Sibylla Merian: Observing Metamorphosis”, depicts a story where Maria would stay up all night to watch a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. She would famously rear hundreds of insects to draw them, sometimes taking years to observe one full life cycle. Her drawing hangs in the background. This painting is also emblematic of the sleep sacrifices mothers make every day for their children- every mother of a newborn knows the exhaustion of staying up all night.” The painting recently showed this summer @worcesterartmuseum by @hilaryldoyle

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8 months ago