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Lillian Gash, born in Boston, Massachusetts, was the oldest girl in a family of four children. In the midst of the Depression and with her mother recently widowed, she went to live at the Fernald School, a residential facility for mentally retarded children, when she was twelve. With the support of a large extended family, Lillian spent weekends visiting her family, learning to help in the kitchen, and going out for ice cream, her favorite outing. Lillian spent the first part of her adulthood in a number of group homes in the Boston area until she moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina with her niece, April. Lillian made many friends in the mountains and discovered her love of painting. It was there that she soon became known for her watercolor paintings and that her artistic nature finally found its outlet. Her paintings have been displayed in many galleries, and are owned by collectors all over North Carolina. Some art lovers have even called her "The Grandma Moses of the Mountains". The highlight of Lillian's artistic career came at the age of 78: she hosted her first one-woman show at the Open Door Gallery in Boone, North Carolina. The exhibit was sponsored by the Watauga County Arts Council and was held in the Jones House Community Center in Boone. The exhibit featured her take on Grant Wood's "American Gothic", a portrait of Malcolm X, a painting of her family's black Labrador retriever, and many pictures of flowers. Over the next seven years, Lillian continued to sell many of her paintings through the senior gallery at the Jones House Community Center. Lillian Gash passed away peacefully in February, 2006, at the age of 85.." This page was last updated on January 16, 2009.
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