Ann McDowell, 91, passed away on August 22, 2021. She is survived by her daughter, Jenny Pellegrini, and son-in-law, David Pellegrini; her son, Will McDowell, and daughter-in-law, Kimberly Bell; her daughter, Catie McDowell, and daughter-in-law, Gail Ross; her half-siblings, Shep Webb and Susan Russell; and her six grandchildren, Riley McDowell, Leah Pellegrini, Dylan McDowell, Sophie Pellegrini, Cooper Ross, and Miles Ross. All will miss her creative spunk, sharp wit, and zest for life. 

Ann grew up in Ashland, Virginia and was the only child of the town dentist, Dr. William Webb, and his wife, Garnett Webb. Her mother died when she was 12, and her father remarried her stepmother, Isabel Webb. Ann was very fond of Isabel, who mothered Ann’s dear half-siblings and whose father, Ann’s step-grandfather, was first to introduce Ann to progressive politics and ideals. She graduated from St. Catherine’s School in Richmond and then went to Bennington College in Vermont for two years to study music and art before returning to Virginia. In 1952, she married the late Charley McDowell, a columnist for the Richmond Times Dispatch with whom she had her three children. 

Ann and Charley had a rich 58-year marriage, traveling together and with their family from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Oahu to Tuscany and beyond. Their adventures ranged from snorkeling to birdwatching, from mountain hikes to theater performances, all of which powerfully informed the adults that Jenny, Will, and Catie grew up to become.

Until 1965, Ann’s family lived in Richmond, where she first began taking painting classes at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. When Charley was named Washington Correspondent for the paper in 1965, the family moved to Alexandria, where Ann’s work as an artist blossomed. She studied photography at Northern Virginia Community College and joined a group of photographers who founded the Photoworks Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in 1985. She also studied painting at the Torpedo Factory’s Art League, as well as the Smithsonian and privately. Later, she moved to a two-artist studio on the Torpedo Factory’s first floor where she worked in experimental photography (specializing in cyanotype and hand-colored infrared photography), collage, and painting until 2009, when she and Charley moved to the Atlantic Shores senior living community in Virginia Beach.

Her work appeared regularly in juried exhibitions and garnered many awards at The Art League, the Twentieth Century Gallery in Williamsburg, the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, and group juried exhibits in several Washington, D.C. galleries. In her final years, she was a resident artist at The Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach. 

Though she may have been most closely identified as an artist, Ann was a woman of many enthusiastic pursuits. At Atlantic Shores, she regularly wrote poems and essays with the writers group, sang with the community chorus, and tended to the lovely garden she created outside her apartment. She had a special affinity for the natural world, which often appeared at the center of her art and writing. As an avid birdwatcher, she could name any species at a quick glance, and she loved to protect and launch the swallowtail butterflies that emerged from chrysalises on her parsley plants. She attempted the newspaper crossword (in pen, no less!) nearly every day, and she loved to cook Southern-style food with plenty of salt. She was fiercely progressive in her politics and consistently informed on the latest news. Overall, she was a force to be reckoned with, full of strong opinions and insights to share. She passed on her passions to her children and grandchildren, who were lucky to join her on adventures throughout their upbringings. Her family will cherish memories of swimming with her at the beach, decorating elaborate Christmas cookies in her kitchen, painting beside her in her art studio, singing along to Broadway soundtracks with her, and hiking with her in National Parks across the country. They will also miss the enriching conversations and exchanges of perspectives on politics, family history, and beyond, which were particularly frequent in recent years. 

A celebration of Ann’s life will be held in November (around Thanksgiving) at The Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach. Details are to come. We welcome you to visit vacremationsociety.com/obituary to share condolences and to sign up for a notification when the event is announced. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Virginia Beach Art Center, home of The Artists Gallery.