ABOUT
Catherine Esmond Mulligan was born in Wells County, Indiana, in 1934. Catherine graduated from Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) with distinction in 1956 with a bachelor of science degree. After graduation, she married Patrick Mulligan, whom she had met the previous summer in Yellowstone National Park, where they both were working seasonal jobs.
In 1956, Catherine moved to Minneapolis where she worked in chemistry laboratories and conducted research in the cosmic ray physics laboratories at the University of Minnesota. Catherine stepped out of the workforce in 1958 to focus on raising three children. When her youngest child started first grade, Catherine began graduate school at Moorhead State University (now Minnesota State University Moorhead). She received her master of science and bachelor of art in 1976 and, while in school, worked as a teaching assistant for sculptor Lyle Laske. Catherine later worked with Master Potter Richard Bresnahan at St. John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota).
From 1975 to 1995, Catherine was involved—under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts—in the creation, design, and development of the Fargo Public Schools’ Creative Arts Program, serving as its Artist-in-Residence. The program became a nationally recognized model for school/community art involvement. During that same time, she served as a senior lecturer in the art department at North Dakota State University.
In 1995, Catherine and Patrick moved to Boulder, CO, where they enjoyed weekly hikes at Rocky Mountain National Park until his death in 2021. She served as the park’s Artist-in-Residence in summer 2003.
Catherine was the first female visual artist to receive the North Dakota Governor’s Award for the Arts (1989). She received three prestigious fellowships from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for international travel dialogues to the Soviet Union, China, and Australia, and was a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts medal. Her ambitious Australian project included hundreds of works created and displayed on two continents, culminating in a solo exhibition at the Australian Embassy (Washington, D.C.) and a lecture at the Smithsonian Institute.
Catherine was an active participant in, and driver of, the regional arts scene in North Dakota and western Minnesota. She was a constant champion of the arts in the community and schools and a regularly featured speaker on the topics of women and the arts, addressing student organizations, educators, and the public. She served on several arts organizations’ boards of directors and councils, including the North Dakota Council on the Arts, Lake Agassiz Arts Council, and the Plains Art Museum.
Her art is displayed in numerous government, corporate, university, and private collections on four continents and throughout the United States.
Catherine currently resides and has her studio in Boulder, Colorado, where she continues to spend time with family, host former students, sculpt her gardens, and live the life of an active artist.
Catherine Esmond Mulligan 