Mary Elizabeth “Maidie” Rutherford, a Texas native, was born in Houston, Texas in 1959. Maidie is a third generation artist with “Lone Star” roots. Her precocious talent for painting began in early childhood where she received extensive apprenticeship in her mother’s studio. Maidie’s mother put her through daily “painting tests” before she was permitted to work alongside her. Her mother, Jeanne Norsworthy, 1935-1998, is an internationally renowned and published artist. Maidie’s grandmother, Betty Norsworthy, 1918-2001, is also a published artist who painted in oil and was renowned for her tapestries reminiscent of Martha Mood.

At the age of 16, Maidie received her first private studio. At 17, she painted the logo on the side of the first “Life-Flight” helicopter. While Maidie began painting in watercolor as a child; in 1988, she began teaching herself to paint with oil. This disciplined, self-tutoring continued for 2 years before she began formal instruction in oil painting in 1990. Since then, Maidie has developed a distinctive style of landscapes and abstracts that entrance the viewer with colorful forms, patterns, and brushwork.

In 1999, after Maidie’s mother died, Maidie proofed and completed her mother’s art book, “Healing Landscapes: a journey from the Big Thicket to the Big Bend”. This was published by A&M University Press and released in November of 2001.

Currently, Maidie has a studio in Houston, and also paints at her late mother’s studio - the family ranch outside Bellville, Texas. Harris Gallery in Houston, Texas currently represents Maidie Rutherford’s work.