Brescia art exhibit honors the work of Sister Mary Diane Taylor

Brescia University hosted an opening reception on Sept. 3, 2021, for the commemorative art exhibit showcasing the art and teaching of the late Ursuline Sister Mary Diane Taylor.

In this 2007 photo, Sister Mary Diane oversees the silkscreen work of Brescia student Verginiya Kadina, who was a graphic design major from Bulgaria.

Sister Mary Diane died June 28, 2021, in her 69th year as an Ursuline Sister. She began serving as an art professor at Brescia in 1967 and retired 51 years later in 2018. In 2016, the administration building was renamed Bartholomy-Taylor Hall, partly in her honor.

This is the first art exhibit in the C.E. Field Center for Professional Studies at Brescia, which opened in 2020. Father Larry Hostetter, Brescia president, said it was fitting that the exhibit honor Sister Mary Diane for her years at Brescia, the Ursuline Sisters’ long influence on the college, and for the many students Sister Mary Diane taught. Some of her former students were on hand for the reception.

The exhibit is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and will run until Oct. 26, 2021. Sister Mary Diane specialized in color theory, stained glass, tapestry, quilting, calligraphy, design, art history, and printmaking. Sister Ruth Gehres, who joined the Ursulines the same years as Sister Mary Diane, attended the reception and took the following pictures.