Diane O’Leary (1939-2013) was born in Waco, Texas to an Irish father and a Comanche mother. She was a piano child progidy and studied Baroque literature, nursing, and archaelogy in college. She obtained degrees from Texas Christian University, Bacone College, Harvard University, and Standford University. She studied under Dick West, an art instructor at Bacone College. While working as a nurse, she became a medical artist. She also conducted envrironmental research on Oregon’s Tillamook Bay for a Congressional proposal for wetland preservation. O’Leary’s artistic style combines elements of abstract painting with the accurate proportionational makeup of her subjects, combining her artistic and scientific training. She is best known for her studies of Indigenous women in their historical context, using her non-traditional artistic style. O’Leary’s work is in the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Guggenheim in New York, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, and the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa.