MANCHESTER, NH – I feel compelled to tell you about a wonderful art exhibit downtown. And while some of you may not have heard of this artist by name, I’m willing to bet many of you have seen her work.
I should start by saying that this exhibit is at our wonderful Millard Museum. Now, if you haven’t been to the Millyard Museum, let me assure you, you are truly missing out, and should correct that ASAP. If you have even a tiny bit of curiosity about our really quite remarkable city, why it grew up where it did and when it did, then the Millyard Museum is an absolute must.
Now, back to the artist. Marylou Ashoo Lazos worked at the Manchester Historic Association for over 40 years as a volunteer, curator, and trustee. As Curator of Collections, she helped design and open the Millyard Museum in 2001. So if you have been to the Millyard Museum, you are virtually guaranteed to have seen her work, perhaps not a painting or drawing by her, but her work nonetheless, in the creation and arrangement of exhibits.
I discovered during this exhibit that one of the things she felt strongly was that every exhibit should contain within it an element to appeal to children. Going forward, the Millyard Museum will always have a corner with elements focusing on children.
Marylou passed away on June 1, 2024. Now, through the efforts of her family, colleagues and friends, we all get to discover a side of her that was less visible than her curatorial work.
Throughout her career Marylou had affiliations with Manchester’s Currier Museum of Art, Brandywine Museum of Art, New Hampshire Institute of Art, American Independence Museum, the New Hampshire Art Association, and the Boothbay Region Art Foundation in Maine. An article about Marylou appeared in 2022 in the Boothbay Register.
Marylou was also an active parishioner of Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Church, where she co-chaired the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival and brought the flavors of Lebanon to Manchester through her cooking. (I can personally testify that this remains one of the most delicious festivals in our city!)
Included in this collection is a painting of two cowboys out west. It really stands apart, in subject matter and in media. It is a gorgeous piece, brightly colored, and could easily have been used on a movie poster or the cover of a western novel. Much more illustrational than most the her work.
Also standing out in this exhibit are a few pieces of assemblage, consisting of many small objects arranged very precisely. Marylou was fond of using electronic circuit boards as backdrops for her assemblages.
Marylou’s exhibit will be on display in the Henry M. Miller State Theatre Gallery of the Millyard Museum through March 1, 2025. So you’ve got plenty of time. No excuses!
The Millyard Museum
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH 03101
(603) 622-7531
e-mail: history@manchesterhistoric.org
OPEN YEAR ROUND Tue-Sat 10-4
Marylou’s daughter Nikki Lazos Bullock works at Southern New Hampshire University. Below are remarks she delivered vividly and movingly at the Millyard Museum on the opening night of the exhibit to honor her mother:
Thank you all so much for being here tonight.
I need to start by thanking the staff of the MHA. Jeff, Kristy, Ashley – Your work on this exhibit is so appreciated by myself and my family.
I know for me, it’s been wonderful to reflect on these two critical pieces of my mom’s legacy – her life as an artist and her work at her beloved MHA.
Thank you all so much for being here tonight.
I need to start by thanking the staff of the MHA. Jeff, Kristy, Ashley – Your work on this exhibit is so appreciated by myself and my family.
I know for me, it’s been wonderful to reflect on these two critical pieces of my mom’s legacy – her life as an artist and her work at her beloved MHA.That there is an exhibit of her art here, of all places, is supremely special.
The very mission of the MHA was at the core of my mom’s identity. She loved Manchester. To work to preserve its history was to work to preserve the history of our family.
Her Grandmother, or Sittoo in Arabic, worked as a spinner at Amoskeag, her mother Louise made bomb parachutes at Textron during the war, mom helped design this very museum – and I, for what it’s worth, work down the block at SNHU — a fourth-generation Manchester mill girl.
My brother John and I grew up in this Millyard and on Amherst Street. We were here so often helping mom – moving, lifting, painting, cleaning, cataloging, hauling? crawling? – that we like to joke that mom violated child labor laws.
The truth is we loved watching her work both as a curator and as an artist. She could turn anything into magic – sometimes, as you’ll soon see, with nothing more than a pencil and a piece of paper.
As Curator, she based her exhibits on unique artifacts from the collection – she thought objects held a special power, an ability to tell stories and to tangibly connect us to the past.
As I walked through this exhibit, I understood that sentiment more than ever before.
I know mom would be absolutely mystified and maybe slightly mortified by this turnout. She never did like attention – despite her deserving it so often.
I hope you enjoy the exhibit, and come away inspired to not only support the MHA – but to act to preserve the arts in this city and this country – because you never know what kind of talent a kid from South Manchester has until they get a chance to put pencil to paper.
Thank you very much.
Below, text from the exhibit’s introductory panel:
Marylou Ashooh Lazos: Life and Works of Manchester
Organized by the Manchester Historic Association and her family, Marylou Ashooh Lazos: Life and Works of Manchester explores the local designer, artist and curator who drew inspiration, energy and purpose from her beloved hometown.
As you journey through her life and works, you’ll witness the development of a young artist from south Manchester into a museum professional keen on preserving the history of her family and city.
This exhibit showcases a diverse array of her work, from early commercial art and design to later fine art, illustration and assemblage. Each work reflects Marylou’s love of artistic form, utility and purpose.
Manchester emerges as a consistent and significant theme in her work, as the city’s transformative spirit and the resilience of its people deeply inspired her. Her legacy not only celebrates Manchester but illustrates the power of nurturing creativity from within its neighborhoods.
Text accompanying a childhood portrait:
Marylou (Ashooh) Lazos was born in Manchester, NH on June 15, 1957 to Emile and Louise (Ganem) Ashooh. She graduated from Trinity High School in 1975 and earned her BA in Art History from the University of New Hampshire in 1980 and her MA in Art History from SUNY Binghamton in 1985.
A profoundly talented artist and historian, her masters thesis centered on a medieval Book of Hours and she obtained special permission to conduct research at the famed Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. She returned to England several times with her daughter and made trips to Ireland and Scotland to pursue and share her passion for medieval art, architecture and illuminated manuscripts.
Caption for a Union Leader photo, circa 2000:
LINDA COLEMAN and Marylou Ashooh-Lazos of the Manchester Historic Association stand next to a display containing the suit once worn by George Washington Morrison Nutt, dubbed “The Commander” by showman P.T. Barnum. The Nutt exhibit is on display at the Historic Association until June.
