Mary Anne Donovan was born in San Rafael, California and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She received her Bachelor's degree in Art Education, majoring in painting at the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and the following year moved to Montana. Initially, her interest was landscape.
She lived in Missoula for four years and received her Master of Fine Arts, majoring in painting and sculpture at the University of Montana. Upon graduation she returned to Cincinnati to begin working in both administration and part-time teaching at The Art Academy of Cincinnati.
After eight years at The Art Academy, she established MadHouse Ltd., a sculptural birdhouse company, extending into many outdoor functional products. But, painting had always been the primary focus of her interest.
From 1991-1993, she taught part-time at Northern Kentucky University and painted, building the basis of her mature portfolio.
From 1997 to 2019, she worked as an Art Specialist - Lead Teacher in Cincinnati Public Schools. She was committed to bring a professional artists’ experience to the classroom and to develop the experiences and gifts of her students.
Further reading: The Way of Unknowing written by Maureen Bloomfield
Mary Anne's works are featured in collections throughout the United States.
