Gladys Gertrude Skelly was an artist and craftsperson who was active in the St. Louis, Missouri, art scene in the 1930s through the 1950s. She specialized in batiks, and later in her career also metalwork.
Skelly studied art at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, Washington University from 1919 to 1926. In 1921, she received an award from the school in recognition for her work there as a student. In 1936, she participated in a cooperative art gallery organized by twenty-eight St. Louis artists. In the summers of 1934 and 1936, she was an instructor for a free summer school for arts and crafts for children at Stix, Baer & Fuller, a St. Louis department store. Skelly taught these classes with artist Jessie Drescher.
Skelly was a member of several arts organizations, including Shikari, the women’s honorary art fraternity of the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, the St. Louis Society of Independent Artists, the St. Louis Women Artists’ Club, Artist-Craftsmen of New York, and the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts.
Skelly exhibited her work frequently in St. Louis, and later in her career in other cities such as Wichita, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Organized by St. Louis Art League, City Art Museum
Organized by St. Louis Art League
Organized by St. Louis Independent Artists
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by St. Louis Artists' Guild
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by Shikari, Stix, Baer and Fuller
Organized by F. Weber & Company
Organized by Stix, Baer and Fuller
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by Shikari, Noonan-Kocian Gallery
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by St. Louis Artists' Guild
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by St. Louis Art Center
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by Davenport Municipal Art Gallery
Organized by Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas)
Organized by Philbrook Art Center
Organized by DeYoung Memorial Museum
Organized by Seattle Art Museum
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by Brooks Memorial Art Gallery
Organized by Oshkosh Museum of Art
Organized by Allen Museum
Organized by Philadelphia Art Alliance
Organized by St. Louis Women Artists, City Art Museum
Organized by St. Louis Art League, City Art Museum
Organized by St. Louis Art League
Organized by St. Louis Independent Artists
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by St. Louis Artists' Guild
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by Shikari, Stix, Baer and Fuller
Organized by F. Weber & Company
Organized by Stix, Baer and Fuller
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by Shikari, Noonan-Kocian Gallery
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by St. Louis Artists' Guild
Organized by Missouri State Fair Commission
Organized by St. Louis Art Center
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by Davenport Municipal Art Gallery
Organized by Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas)
Organized by Philbrook Art Center
Organized by DeYoung Memorial Museum
Organized by Seattle Art Museum
Organized by City Art Museum
Organized by Brooks Memorial Art Gallery
Organized by Oshkosh Museum of Art
Organized by Allen Museum
Organized by Philadelphia Art Alliance
Organized by St. Louis Women Artists, City Art Museum
Artist clippings file is available at:
“Gladys Getrude Skelly: Artist File,” Spencer Art Reference Library, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
“Gladys Gertrude Skelly: Artist File,” Saint Louis Public Library, Saint Louis, Missouri.
“Mrs. Gladys Skelly Goetz Dies in Phoenix,” Mexico Ledger (Mexico, Missouri), January 6, 1975. 5.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Dorothy B. Gilbert, Who’s Who in American Art (New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1959), 528.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Who’s Who of American Women: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living American Women. (Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, 1958-1959), 1182
Francis H. Klein, “Women Artists Feature Realism in Museum Exhibit," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 9, 1952, 10A.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Dorothy B. Gilbert, ed. Who’s Who in American Art (Washington, DC: The American Federation of Arts, 1947), 430.
“Women Artists” St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 28, 1942, 25.
Harry R. Burke, “Batik Makers in Fascinating Show at City Art Museum,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 1, 1941.
Harry R. Burke, “Dreher Scores in Batik Show,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 23, 1940, 3C.
“Fine Arts Awards," Sedalia Weekly Democrat, August 26, 1938, 6.
“Fine Arts Awards," Sedalia Weekly Democrat, August 27, 1937, 3.
“Co-Operative Gallery of Art Works Opened,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 18, 1936, 28.
“Free Summer School Opened by Store: Arts and Crafts Instruction For Children Will Begin Monday,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 28, 1934, 2.
“Shikari Annual Show,” Art World: Magazine of Culture, 2, no. 8 (April 1933): 1, 3.
“Women’s Clubs,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 3, 1933, 8B.
“Artists Represented in Window Exhibit,” Art World: Magazine of Culture, 2, no. 6 (February 1933): 3.
“Thumb-Box Exhibit to Be Opened Today at City Art Museum,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 17, 1929, 2.
“Art School Awards for Year Announced at Annual Banquet," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 5, 1921, B7.
St. Louis Public Library, Dictionary of Saint Louis Artists (St. Louis: St. Louis Public Library, 1993).
Anita Jacobsen, Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists (Carrollton: A.J. Publications, 2002).
Peter H. Falk, et. al, Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America (Madison: Sound View Press, 1999).
Roberta Wagener, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Published on October 2, 2023
Artist clippings file is available at:
“Gladys Getrude Skelly: Artist File,” Spencer Art Reference Library, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
“Gladys Gertrude Skelly: Artist File,” Saint Louis Public Library, Saint Louis, Missouri.
“Mrs. Gladys Skelly Goetz Dies in Phoenix,” Mexico Ledger (Mexico, Missouri), January 6, 1975. 5.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Dorothy B. Gilbert, Who’s Who in American Art (New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1959), 528.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Who’s Who of American Women: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living American Women. (Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, 1958-1959), 1182
Francis H. Klein, “Women Artists Feature Realism in Museum Exhibit," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 9, 1952, 10A.
“Skelly, Gladys Gertrude,” in Dorothy B. Gilbert, ed. Who’s Who in American Art (Washington, DC: The American Federation of Arts, 1947), 430.
“Women Artists” St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 28, 1942, 25.
Harry R. Burke, “Batik Makers in Fascinating Show at City Art Museum,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 1, 1941.
Harry R. Burke, “Dreher Scores in Batik Show,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 23, 1940, 3C.
“Fine Arts Awards," Sedalia Weekly Democrat, August 26, 1938, 6.
“Fine Arts Awards," Sedalia Weekly Democrat, August 27, 1937, 3.
“Co-Operative Gallery of Art Works Opened,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 18, 1936, 28.
“Free Summer School Opened by Store: Arts and Crafts Instruction For Children Will Begin Monday,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 28, 1934, 2.
“Shikari Annual Show,” Art World: Magazine of Culture, 2, no. 8 (April 1933): 1, 3.
“Women’s Clubs,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 3, 1933, 8B.
“Artists Represented in Window Exhibit,” Art World: Magazine of Culture, 2, no. 6 (February 1933): 3.
“Thumb-Box Exhibit to Be Opened Today at City Art Museum,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 17, 1929, 2.
“Art School Awards for Year Announced at Annual Banquet," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 5, 1921, B7.
St. Louis Public Library, Dictionary of Saint Louis Artists (St. Louis: St. Louis Public Library, 1993).
Anita Jacobsen, Jacobsen's Biographical Index of American Artists (Carrollton: A.J. Publications, 2002).
Peter H. Falk, et. al, Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America (Madison: Sound View Press, 1999).
Roberta Wagener, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Published on October 2, 2023
Updated on None
Wagener, Roberta. “Gladys Gertrude Skelly." In Missouri Remembers: Artists in Missouri through 1951. Kansas City: The Kansas City Art Institute and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; St. Louis: The St. Louis Public Library, 2023, https://doi.org/10.37764/5776.