HMC
Maria's Art

Here is a sampling of President Maria Klawe's art work, and her thoughts about art, math and science:

Photograph of Maria Klawe's artwork Guillemot Flox
Guillemot Flox (2005)

Photograph of Maria Klawe's artwork Silent Kayaker (2001)
Silent Kayaker (2001)

"I've been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. I found it hard to choose between a career in art and a career in math/science. I eventually opted for math/science because I thought it would be easier to do art on the side than math/science on the side."   

Photograph of Maria Klawe's art work Starling Fox (2005)
Starling Flox (2005)

"I took a number of fine arts courses while in university but was quite discouraged by the attitude of the faculty toward students majoring in science (they felt science students shouldn’t be allowed in courses for those majoring in fine arts). As I became a professional mathematician and then a computer scientist, it became clear that also being an artist would diminish my credibility (already in question because of being female), so I kept my painting secret. When I turned 40, I decided to come out of the closet and I hung several of my paintings in my office as well as in my home."

Photograph of Maria Klawe's artwork Tiger for a Tiger (2004)
Tiger for a Tiger (2004)

"Today, I show paintings whenever I try to recruit students to engineering. I want them to know that many leading engineers and scientists are artists, musicians, dancers, or writers. Engineering and science are creative disciplines. It shouldn’t be surprising that the creative energy, passion, and talent cross into other areas. I can’t imagine living without painting. It’s a form of expression of ideas and emotion that I cannot express through any other medium."

Photograph of Maria Klawe's artwork Anita's Ribbon (2003)
Anita's Ribbon (2003)

Terns
Terns (2007)

Reassembly Required
Reassembly Required

Play
Play


Paradise
Paradise


Ollie in the Garden
Ollie in the Garden


MSRI and Goats
MSRI and Goats


Horses
Horses


Bare Trees Against Canyon
Bare Trees Against Canyon


Aspens
Aspens


Text from EQuad News, the magazine of Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Science