In 1993, Eileen Doman found herself restless. A suburban housewife whose daughter had just begun school, she decided to take up painting. Having no formal training, she drew inspiration from the works of Amedeo Modigliani and Vincent van Gogh, remembering them from a fieldtrip to the Art Institute at age 15. Doman turned to photographs for subjects – painting relatives, friends, and the occasional pop culture celebrity – captured in time on canvas.

In a short time, Doman had amassed a large body of work. She joined a local art league which opened doors to exhibitions in Chicago and L.A. By 1994, she was featured at the Outsider Art Fair in New York and was given a solo exhibition at the Ricco/Maresca Gallery later that same year. Doman had become an overnight sensation. She was featured on the CBS television program, Face to Face with Connie Chung and in 2001, the Whitney Museum of American Art acquired her painting, Young Ida.

During this new career, Doman found that maintaining a place in the public eye was challenging and retreated to her painting. Doman worked from the hundreds of collected photographs, creating artistic records of Ida Bell, her stoic, beloved and belated grandmother from rural Kentucky; her mother, Lillian, at age 16 already married and a mother; uncles posed with shiny cars that belonged to others. Time passes, but Doman captures a candid quirkiness that turns ordinary people and events into artistic records of Americana.

Now, more than 20 years later, Intuit is proud to welcome this extraordinary painter back to Chicago. Doman’s art, captured through the prism of a modern primitive style and witty intelligence, often presents unanswered questions, offers a quirky glimpse at the past, and provides an artistic satisfaction that is enduring.