Viola Burley

Viola Burley, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, studied art at the Pratt Institute in New York City. In the 1970s, her paintings, prints and textiles were frequently exhibited throughout New York City. Her art is inspired by her own personal experiences and surroundings, that she then incorporates with imaginative and mystical elements. Painted in her two-dimensional, graphic-like style, The Masquerade portrays the visual motifs of masks that which, according to the New York Amsterdam News are “provocative and devastating…a piercing statement on racial hypocrisy.”

Title: The Masquerade
Artist: Viola Burley (b. 1944)
Date: 1975
Medium: lithograph on paper
Dimensions: Image: 25 ½ x 33 inches; Framed: 30 ¼ x 39 ½ inches
Accession Number: H77.10

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