Polly Little

Polly Little is part of the Living Legacy Project at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Click here to listen to her artist interview. 

Polly Little is a printmaker and painter based in Buffalo, NY. She received her BA in fine arts from Missouri Western State College in 1976. In 1978, she received a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of New Mexico and an MA in 1980. Polly Little is a Western New York artist known for her portraits of people and animals. She works with Oil, pastel, and ink. She is also known for her inked wood blocking. An alumnus of the University of New Mexico, Polly has now become a Professor and the Development Director of Hallwalls Art Center. 

Polly Little was an Development Director at the Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center for 15 years. She also taught at other Universities all throughout Western New York. These schools included Daemen College, Erie Community College, Arts in Education Institute of Western New York, Williamsville Public School District and Medaille College. She held exhibitions at the museums all across Western New York. These consist of the Albright Knox Museum, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Rockefeller Art Center and Burchfield Penney Art Center. Other exhibits were held all over the country in Texas, Colorado, Arkansas and Los Angeles. Since 1980, Little has had solo and two-person exhibitions in New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, and throughout Western New York. She was the recipient of a 2011 NYFA MARK residency. [1]

Since 1980, Little has had solo and two-person exhibitions in New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, and throughout Western New York. She was the recipient of a 2011 NYFA MARK residency.

In an undated artist’s statement, she described her work in this way:

“I make paintings of animals because their intelligence and pure natural beauty fascinate me. Animal instincts can mirror human behavior, but more often reflect an aspect of survival. Some works refer to the predator-prey relationship, some the possibility of extinction, and some to basic survival. Wild animals learn a lack of trust, while domesticated animals learn trust. Whether this is unnatural or natural not does not matter, but the purity of animals’ action and reaction move me to use animals as subject matter.

“My work has always had an expressionist attitude. The energetic brush strokes and chisel marks suggest constant change or movement and reflect the constant changes and challenges of life in all its forms.” [2]

Little is married to fellow artist Mark Lavatelli and is the mother of artist Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli.

For more information on Polly Little, visit http://littlelavatelli.net/index.html.

[1] Polly Little Biography http://polly.littlelavatelli.net/?page_id=2

[2] Polly Little, artist statement, n.d., http://www.artistsinbuffalo.org/pages/artistsgalleries/artist/polly%20little . (Accessed 9/4/2014)