Sybil Gibson
American female painter (1908–1995)
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Early life and education
Gibson was born Sybil Aaron in Dora, Alabama, to parents Lenora Reid Aaron and Monroe Aaron.[2][1] Her father was a wealthy coal mine owner and farmer. He owned and operated the Sulphur Springs Coal Company.[3] She was one of eight children.[2]
She was educated at Jacksonville State Teachers College, earning a B.S. in Elementary Education before going on to become a teacher.[4]
Career
For much of her adult life she had no interest in painting, having had her ambitions crushed when a college art teacher told her she had no talent.[5][better source needed] However, on Thanksgiving Day 1963, aged 55, Gibson took to creating her own wrapping paper designs using tempera paint and brown paper grocery bags. This led to a fascination with creating art which lasted until her death.[6][better source needed]
Howell Raines wrote in June 1971 that "the paintings are not over-powering, they are truly fragile in the best sense. The colors are very delicate, and while Sybil Gibson's work is figurative, her realism is tempered with a certain dream-like quality."[7] Gibson chose to paint limited subject matter, mainly concentrating on the human form, particularly faces, as well as flowers, birds and small animals.[8] Her style is considered 'folk art', and she is regarded as an outsider, or naïve artist.[4]
In May 1971, shortly before the opening of her first art exhibition at the Miami Museum of Modern Art, Gibson disappeared, leaving drawings strewn about her yard.[9] An eccentric woman, Gibson disappeared several times.[6] Around 300 of her paintings are believed to exist in museums and private collections, although many more have been destroyed after being strewn around outside her home when she disappeared.[6]
Gibson's work has been exhibited in more than fifty one-woman exhibitions.[10] Woodward Gallery in New York City represented the Estate of Sybil Gibson from 2011-2016. In 2025, Woodward Gallery formally acquired the Estate of Sybil Gibson.[11] Her work is featured in various public museum collections including at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts,[2] the Museum of American Folk Art,[12] the Johnson Collection,[13] Birmingham Museum of Art,[14] and the New Orleans Museum of Art.[15] Woodward Gallery featured Sybil Gibson in an expansive, retrospective solo exhibition, "Art from Within", from May 10 - June 21, 2014.[16]
Personal life and death
She married her high school boyfriend Hugh Gibson in 1929, with whom she raised a daughter.[2] By 1935, she was divorced from Gibson and her parents were caring for her daughter while she went back to school.[2] Despite her prosperous upbringing, she spent much of her adult life living in poverty.[9]
In the late 1940s she moved to Florida due to a sinus issue.[2]
From c. 1950 to 1958, she was married to David DeYarmon. The marriage ended when he died.[2]
Late in life, her daughter arranged for Gibson to return to Florida, where she had an operation to restore her sight.[2] She died on January 2, 1995, in Dunedin, Florida, aged 86.[2]