Leila McConnell Art

Leila McConnell was born in 1927 in Los Angeles, California. Her family moved to Houston when she was six and, after graduating from high school, she enrolled at Rice Institute (now Rice University). At the time, Rice had no department of architecture but McConnell sought inspiration from iconic professor James Chillman. After earning her BA from Rice, she continued her art studies at the Museum School (now Glassell School) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In the summer of 1949, she attended the San Francisco School of Fine Arts and was fortunate to study under Mark Rothko. After her classes with Rothko, she began to paint more abstract pieces. In 1956 she married fellow artist Henri Gadbois.

Realizing that she had a vivid imagination, McConnell embarked on a trip to Europe in 1960. The stucco buildings of Italy greatly impacted her vision and caused a change in her paintings. Her colors became soft and blended, often misty and portraying a sun or moon, causing the artist to deem many of her works “sky paintings.” In 1976, McConnell began creating paper collages, a diversion from her painted works. Although small, her collages impacted the way McConnell created her paintings — her edges became harder, mixed with the mistiness of her skies, and her compositions became more symmetrical. McConnell continues to paint in her unique style and develop her oeuvre of “sky” pieces.