M A R I A N N E   S M I T H   D A L T O N

M D A L T O N A R T

Fine Art Photographer – Designer – Writer – Curator

Storytelling drives my vision as a fine artist in photography, writing, and interior-designed spaces. One of my goals in this fast-paced age we live in is to curate a living space that serves as a sanctuary retreat. A place where art, design, and comfort all work together. My love of historic homes is obvious as I unite the past with the present, bringing contemporary and vintage furniture and furnishings together, creating uniquely individual rooms. I often start with an original work of art or a textile that drives the rest of my vision.

See Design Interiors

I worked as a real estate professional for several years, which inspired me to focus on home restoration. I began by purchasing homes in Syracuse, NY, and started my business, Our House Restorations, LLC in 2010.  After restoring homes, I became more interested in interior design, specifically bringing my vision along with original fine art into residential spaces. That’s why in 2019, MDALTONART, LLC was born.

I am also the Curator/Director of the Sarah G. Austin Foundation (Based in Norwalk, CT). Committed to the creative arts legacy of the late Sarah G. Austin through educational exhibitions and loans of the late artist’s work. On August 13th, 2025 the SGA Foundation held a special art exhibition and sale of Austin’s work at the Castine Yacht Club in Castine, Maine. How fitting it was to witness the magic that Sarah G. Austin continues to generate with her extraordinary collage constructions in such a significant setting in her history. In 2021, I was thrilled to make a Gift Acquisition of Austin’s large piece, Picasso/Braque, comprising four art boxes, to Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, MA. Please follow the Foundation’s Facebook page for more information, future exhibitions and updates. The Sarah G. Austin Foundation.

A bit more background:

I am a founding member of the original art house Redhouse  in Syracuse, New York. I served as both gallery director and curator for the first several years of its inception. Responsible for the overall artistic vision and leadership of visual fine art, culminating in dozens of exhibitions including installation, painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media from local and nationally recognized artists. It was a rewarding experience, and it ultimately reaffirmed my desire to focus solely on my design and creative work.

My desire to use my expertise with hands-on materials as an artist led me to pursue other ways to use these skills. I worked in healthcare as an orthotist for almost ten years in Philadelphia in the 1980s. (Louis Yellin, Inc.) There, I specialized in the custom fabrication of corrective bracing for children and adults. My main concentration was working with children with scoliosis and other congenital issues. Those personal relationships developed during that experience decades ago; working with individuals often facing debilitating circumstances who were so full of gratitude and hope, continually inspire me today.

 

PUBLISHED WRITING

Creative Nonfiction Green Eyes  (February 2026)

Creative Nonfiction An Adirondack Story   (July 2025)

Creative Nonfiction Anything But Ordinary   (2025)

Creative Nonfiction  A Rainbow Day   (June 2024)

Creative Nonfiction   The Voodoo Shell   (October 2023)

Creative Nonfiction – Chasing Blue Butterflies  (May 2023)

Creative Nonfiction – My Supposed Amish Life   (Oct. 2022)

Creative Nonfiction – A Punk Like Me  (2022)

Creative Nonfiction – Angel in Feathery Red  (2021)

 

PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHY

Juried Literary Journal/Online Publication/The Write Launch/The April Issue 2026/Photographs: Pondering Eden

Juried Magazine/Print Publication/Humana Obscrura Magazine (Spring 2025) Mystical Morning Beckons

Juried Magazine/Print Publication: 4th FotoNostrum Magazine Awards  Barcelona, Spain (2024)

Juried Magazine/Print Publication/SHOTS Magazine, Time Travel  (2024) Photograph “Dance Dance Dance”

Juried Literary Journal/Online Publication/The Write Launch/June 2024 Issue/Photographs: “Splash”, “Sienna Sky” and “Midnight Blue” from the series, Metamorphosis 

Juried Literary Journal/Online Publication/The Write Launch/The Winter Quarterly 2024/Photographs: “October Still Life”, “Many Leaves” and “Abstract Grasses”  from the series, Climate Crisis: Chasing Paradise 

Juried Magazine/Online Publication/The Brooklyn Review – Flower Whispering  From the series, “Metamorphosis” –  (2022)

Juried Magazine/Print Publication/SHOTS Magazine – Self Portraits Issue  – Photograph “Hidden” (2022) 

Juried Book/Print Publication/Stone Canoe; Issue Number 14  (February 2020) Photograph: “The Hypnotist”

Juried Book/Print Publication/Photographer’s Forum, Photograph, “Cries and Whispers” Inclusion in Book: Best of Photography 2014.

 

 

INSTALLATION

Installation: Cloud Cover, Redhouse Arts Center Rooftop, Syracuse, NY (2010 – 2018)

Public Art Performance: Cloud Cover, Redhouse Arts Center Rooftop, Syracuse, NY (2014)

 

PAINTING

Group Show/Painting: The Language of Trees, Redhouse Arts Center, Syracuse, NY (2013)

Group Show/Painting: Mentors: 4 Influential Women Artists, Tech Garden, Syracuse, NY (2013)

Juried Group Exhibition/Photography: Fertile Imagination, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY (2013) Juror: Jerome Witkin, American Figurative Painter.

Juried Group Exhibition/Painting: Artists of Madison County, Stone Quarry Art Park, Cazenovia, NY (2011)

Solo Exhibition/Painting: How Does Your Garden Grow? Redhouse Arts Center, Syracuse, NY (2010)

Juried Group Invitational/Finding Art in Nature, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, NY (2010)

Solo Painting Exhibition/Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Gallery at The Spring, Center for Spiritual and Cultural Unity/Fayetteville, NY (2009)

National Juried Group Exhibition/Arte Sagrado, Concordia University, Austin, Texas (2007)

National Juried Group Exhibition/Jerusalem: Between Visions and Realities/Palestine Center/Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington, DC (2006)

 

EDUCATION

• Master of Fine Art, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
• Bachelor of Fine Art, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA.
• Bachelor of Science, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA.

 

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