About Dawn Inglis Montgomery
Artist Biography
Dawn Inglis Montgomery is a fine art painter living and working in Jacksonville, Florida. She brings a regionalism to her work focusing on southeastern manufacturing industries and the skilled laborer behind the scenes. The workers and architecture of her family’s century-old manufacturing business located in the historic Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville are her source of inspiration. Highlighting the overlooked and hidden corners that many pass by, her paintings juxtapose resilience and decay, nature and industry, to find beauty. Montgomery took drawing and painting courses while studying architecture and city planning at the University of Virginia. Completing her master's degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology, she worked for seven years in the city planning field. Informed by this background, she is drawn to strong perspective lines found in the urban and natural landscape.
In 2025 she was a recipient of an Art Ventures Grant from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. Her paintings have been shown at ArtFields, the Cummer Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, the Jacksonville International Airport, the University of Southern Mississippi Art Museum, the LaGrange Art Museum, the Lamar Dodd Art Center, Florida State College at Jacksonville, the University of North Florida, Valdosta State University, Northwest Florida State College, Ritz Theatre and Museum Jacksonville, Martin Arts, and the Fort Myers Alliance for the Arts.
Artist Statement
Real people making real things. During the initial 2020 pandemic shutdowns, our company was designated as an essential service. In an increasingly digital and isolated society, this designation inspired me to highlight the contributions of the manufacturing sector. These vital, gritty jobs are not done remotely or in isolation but are rooted in personal interactions, which build a successful life and career. Hard work informs our identity, boosts our self-esteem, strengthens families, and contributes to our communities. These workers have vast skill sets, aptitude with numbers, and attention to details. They create things that people need in their everyday lives. They serve as mentors passing knowledge from one generation to the next. Their work matters.