Carol MCILROY (1924-1999)

The Albuquerque art scene traditionally has been overlooked in relation to the attention paid to the Santa Fe and Taos artists of the early 20^th century.  The artists of Albuquerque have been a close-held secret by Albuquerque residents because they tended to collect from those artists which prevented their works from being available on the art market.

It is no secret that Carl Von Hassler was the most well-known artist of the first half of the 20^th century but there were contemporaries of his who also were very well known locally and their works were purchased by local residents.  Few Albuquerque families have released them for sale, rather, deciding to pass them on through their families.

In the 1940s, three female artists opened the art gallery “Galeria del Sol” in Old Town Albuquerque.  They were Betty Sabo (1928- ), Jane Mabry (1911-2006) and Carol McIlroy (1924-1999).  They were immensely popular and their gallery was the weekend drop-in spot to see “what the girls have done.”

Carol McIlroy’s style was similar to that of Betty Sabo and Jane Mabry but she also painted in a more modernist style, a style being promulgated by local artists such as Raymond Jonson and others and it was gaining in popularity in the mid-20^th century.