Shirley Ann Luke Schnell (1937-2023) was a painter and illustrator, and educator who had a 42-year career teaching in the foundations department at the Kansas City Art Institute. After earning a bachelor's in fine arts from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design in 1958 and a master of fine arts from Yale University in 1963, she taught at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. In 1961 she married photographer Lloyd Schnell and in 1966 the couple moved to Kansas City where they both took teaching positions at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Shirley was recognized by colleagues for taking her teaching as seriously as her own creativity, for supporting them, and for committing herself to laying the foundation for the next generation of artists. It is said her serious classroom demeanor belied a kind, gentle, sensitive, and understanding woman. Her students admired her for her curiosity, creativity, and patience, and her commitment to their creative development.
Her work has been shown throughout the United States and in Canada, Japan, and Ireland. She exhibited at the Invitational Easter at the White House in 1987. Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and at the State Historical Society of Missouri. She was the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
