Page 27 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2026

“The title was chosen based on a quote by Dusti Bongé, who once said ‘I can think in watercolor’ in reference to her smaller artworks on paper which were often in watercolor, but sometimes in ink, acrylic, tempera, or mixed media,” says Ligia Romer, director of the foundation. “In addition, she also said that she loved all colors whether bright or dull. And so we decided to present a show with works in a range of colors: blue, green, red, pink, and what she would have called ‘dull’ colors.”
The entire show is all works on paper. Most of the works are smaller scale, ranging from 5”x 8” to 11” x 14.” There are two larger pieces, 18” x 24”, and one miniature piece, 2” x 3.” The majority of the works are from her later years—1970s and 1980s.
“I joke that an artist has to be gone for at least 25 to 30 years before they are rediscovered,” says Romer. “But seriously, it usually takes a long time for an artist’s work to reach a larger audience, unless they were already famous during their lifetime. Also, recognition takes a long time if the artist is from a place that is not famous for its art scene.”
Asked to describe the artist’s style of painting, Romer replied, “Considering Dusti Bongé’s total output of work she is best described as a modernist and abstract painter. Modernist in that right from the start in the 1930s, she painted in a manner that did not adhere to traditional rules and ways of painting.
“Abstract in that she moved very quickly from early works that were loosely representational—still lifes, cityscapes, landscapes—to works that were no longer representing anything, but were instead all about color, gesture and composition, expressing thoughts or feelings.”
Another reason, Romer suggests, is that like in many other fields and professions, the work of men is always given more attention. “For women from Dusti’s generation who did abstract art this finally started changing around 2016 when the Denver Art Museum had a big exhibit of women abstract expressionists. Dusti was not in that show, but it spurred on other institutions and art collectors to start paying more attention to women artists.”
However, Bongé did get recognition for her work during her lifetime. She showed her work in galleries in New York, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Romer believes the coastal environment was important in the making of this artist. “The atmosphere, the colors, the rich natural setting with the coast, swamps, rivers, the flora and fauna played a part,” she said. “But also the lifestyle, instead of being in a major metropolitan area where she may have been able to get a lot more exposure, she got to live her life the way she wanted, focussing on her art instead of competing with other artists.”
Dusti Bongé was born Eunice Lyle Swetman in 1903 in Biloxi. Her first artistic interest was the theater. After graduating college, she moved to Chicago to study drama, and then to New York to further her acting career. She appeared on stage and in silent films in Chicago and New York. During this time, she met her future husband, Archie Bongé, a promising young painter from Nebraska. She also acquired the nickname Dusti.
She and Archie were married in Biloxi in 1928 and settled in New York. Their son Lyle was born a year later in 1929. They moved to Biloxi in 1934 to raise Lyle and to allow Archie more time for painting. Tragically, Archie became seriously ill and passed away in 1936. After Archie’s death, Dusti found solace in his studio and began painting and drawing seriously. She was 33. It was Archie who had encouraged Dusti’s natural abilities as an artist, after she once drew a picture for him to make up for an argument.
Untitled (Great Compassion with Bamboo on Red Ground), 1985
Untitled (White and Brown Forms on Blue Ground), 1975
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Untitled (Green Tree with Pink and Orange Rectangles), 1985