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Created page with " {{Infobox person | name = Geraldine Smitherman "Jerry" Wray | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date =December 15, 1925 | birth_place =Shreveport, Louisiana..."
{{Infobox person
| name = Geraldine Smitherman "Jerry" Wray
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date =December 15, 1925
| birth_place =[[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
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| resting_place=
| occupation=Painter
| party=
| religion=[[Christian]]
| party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=598308|title=Geraldine Wray, December 1925|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref>
| spouse=George Downing Wray, Jr. (married c. 1945-2008, his death)
| children=Four daughters
| relations=
| parents=
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}}
'''Geraldine Smitherman Wray''', known as '''Jerry Wray'' (born December 15, 1925),<ref>{{cite web|url=
https://www.mylife.com/geraldine-smithwray/e948615679080|title=Geraldine Wray|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=December 16, 2017}}</ref> is a watercolor painter in her native [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]].
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1943 from the Newcomb College Art School at Tulane University in [[New Orleans]], at which she learned to work in watercolor as well as inks, acrylics, and collage to produce visual expressions with emphasis on color. She represented Newcomb at a student exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in [[New York City]]. Wray has won more than forty awards in the last thirty years in referred exhibits. She has had twenty-eight shows between 2002 and 2017 as well as group exhibitions throughout the United States and the [[Virgin Islands]]. Her paintings have been purchased internationally for Fortune 500 companies as well as private collections. A [[Germany|German]] firm purchased some of her originals. She is also in demand in [[Japan]]. In 1996, she was elected to the National Association of Women Artists. In 1999, she was won the showcase award from ''Manhattan Arts Magazine.'' Wray's work is available in seven galleries and seven museums world-wide, including the Meadows Museum in Shreveport and the Biblical Art Museum in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]].<ref name=resume>{{cite web|url=http://www.jerrywray.com/resume|title=Jerry Wray - Contemporary American Artist - Resume|publisher=jerrywray.com|accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jerry-wray.html?tab=about|title=About Jerry Wray|publisher=Fineartamerica.com|accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref>
Besides her solo paintings, Wray also paints with her four daughters and grandchildren. The three generations exhibited their work at the Barnwell Art Center in Shreveport. She has painted more than one thousand paintings between 2007 and 2017. From 2006 to 2017, she had twenty one-person shows. She is an inductee of the Visual Arts Hall of Fame and the C. E. Byrd High School Hall of Fame, both in Shreveport.<ref name=resume/>
Wray's family owns a Ford [[automobile]] dealership in Shreveport and KTBS-TV, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] outlet in Shreveport founded as an [[NBC]] station in 1955. Her husband, George Downing Wray, Jr. (1915-2008), died of an aortic aneurysm while they were attending the [[opera]] in Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?pid=108593852|title=George Downing Wray, Jr.|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 29, 2008|accessdate=September 16, 2017}]</ref>
Wray explains her commitment to painting:
<blockquote>
My reason for painting is to express my inner-most feelings, my deep love for [[God]], and the world He created. Feeling that painting should not be exclusively realistic or abstract, I travel freely between the two, combining them when necessary to convey my emotional and philosophical responses to the subject. Recently, I started a new series of non-objective paintings based on symbols … universal as well as personal, subjective ones. The series is a result of some Jungian studies in conjunction with my "inner journey" and an outgrowth of my [[Judeo-Christian]] background and strong beliefs. This series is called "Inside Looking Out" ... a name representing my "inner person" looking toward the light of truth. ... my work has consolidated into the direction I have been looking for all my life. I'm so excited. I can hardly finish one before another is formed in my mind."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwlaartists.org/community/1260-jerry-wray/profile|title=Abput Artist|publisher=Northwest Louisiana Artist Director Profile - Jerry Wray|publisher=Nwlaartists.org|accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref></blockquote>
In 2009, [[Sarah Hudson-Pierce]]'s Ritz Publications in Shreveport released the book, ''Jerry Wray: Pioneer Artist Of The South.'' That same year Wray has also been profiled on the [[PBS]] program, ''Louisiana: The State We're In.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ldma.lpb.org/video_v2/asset-detail/LSWI-3305-ArtistJerryWray|title=Artist Jerry Wray Profile|publisher=ldma.lpb.org|date=October 9, 2009|accessdate=September 16, 2017}]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Jerry}}
[[Category:Louisiana people]]
[[Category:Artists]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Women]]