(1914-2001) 

During Mary Nohl’s lifetime, Kohler Foundation worked closely with Mary to make selections of art to be gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI. This included an amazing collection of Mary’s handcrafted silver and stone jewelry, small works in glass and ceramic, many paintings, the large “Stickman” sculpture,  “Danny the Diver” works on paper, lithographs, hand-painted tiles, and more. 

Mary limited these gifts of art to work that she had in storage at her home, not the pieces she lived with on a day to day basis. This allowed her to retain her home environment surrounded by the art she loved, while sharing part of the collection with the outside world. She loved seeing it on display and commented that to see her jewelry again was like “visiting old friends”. She cherished the memories of where she wore the jewelry and giggled like a young schoolgirl with tales of people reading symbolic meaning into the purely decorative pieces. Mary was delighted by the response she saw in people as they viewed her art. It was late in her life, but Mary cherished and celebrated the visibility and recognition of having her work shown at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.