Maury's Story

Maury Ornest’s story is one of extraordinary transformation.

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A professional baseball player turned self-taught painter, Maury found art in his early thirties after beginning to suffer from serious mental illness. His therapist encouraged him to paint, to give expression to his chaos. What began as therapy became a lifelong passion.

Maury poured his boundless optimism and vivid imagination into his work, creating more than 1,400 paintings, along with hundreds of journals and sketches. His art is whimsical, bold, and unapologetically vibrant -- a reflection of a mind that saw light even in its darkest moments.

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Following Maury’s passing at the age of 58, his family discovered this vast, hidden universe he had quietly built. Every canvas tells a story of perseverance, exploration, and the richness and complexity of being human.