Chickasaw Visitor Center Featured Artist: Mary Ruth Barnes

Learn more about Chickasaw and other First American artists at the Chickasaw Visitor Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma. 

Mary Ruth Barnes is a Chickasaw artist, author, photographer, storyteller, philanthropist and historic preservationist. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina State University and received her master’s degree in education from Montana State University.

After graduating college, Barnes taught high school and college English, art and computer science for 14 years. Barnes has won numerous awards for her art and short stories. She is known for her flowing, freestyle, vibrant depictions of outdoor scenes, First Americans and horses. Her specialties are watercolor and acrylic painting.

Barnes’ love for nature is shown in her artwork, which is influenced by her Chickasaw family and experiences with storytelling. Her art reflects the colorful stories her Chickasaw grandfather shared.

Barnes is the 2015 Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year and in 2019 she received the Women in the Arts Recognition Award from the Ada, Oklahoma chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.