Painter Sally Haley dies at age 99

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Sally Haley, a Connecticut native who played a key role in the Pacific Northwest's art scene, died of natural causes in Portland, Ore., at age 99.

Critically acclaimed for her portraits and still life canvases, Haley had many solo and group exhibits during her career that spanned much of the 20th century, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Monday.

The artist was honored with a career retrospectives at the Portland Art Museum the Art Gym at Marylhurst University.

A native of Bridgeport Conn., she moved across the country to Portland in the late 1940s with her husband, artist Michele Russo, who died in 2004.

"She lived here," said Arlene Schnitzer, who represented Haley during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s when Schnitzer ran the Fountain Gallery. "But she wasn't affected by the color or the light here. She brought her own kind of independence about art with her to the Northwest."

"Much of her best work was done in her 60s, 70s and 80s. She went the distance as an artist," said Terri Hopkins, the Art Gym's director who assembled Haley's career survey.

Haley is survived by two sons, a granddaughter and a grandson.