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Mary Joan Chaney was born in Los Angeles, California on October 16, 1927. Chaney studied at Otis Art Institute, Chouinard Art Institute and Loyola Marymount University.

While raising her family in Los Angeles, she converted her large laundry room into an art studio. Spending hours in her studio, she painted, sculpted and sketched each of her seven children as well as friends and neighbors. Once her children were grown, she began her professional career as a commercial illustrator.

Her courtroom illustrations have been shown by ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox, KTTV, Court TV and several international news outlets. One of Los Angeles' famous cases covered by Chaney was the 1992 trial of the Los Angeles Police Department officers accused of beating Rodney King. Shortly after the jury acquitted the defendants, widespread rioting broke out across Los Angeles tragically leaving 55 people dead. Other internationally known cases covered by Chaney were the O.J. Simpson civil trial, murdered drug enforcement agent Enrique Camarena, Snoop Dogg and the Richard Miller FBI espionage trial. Spending days and weeks sketching and listening to gruesome testimony occasionally was quite disturbing, particularly in the case of serial killer Richard Ramirez who was convicted of 13 counts of murder.

In a review for The Los Angeles Times, the newspaper took note of Chaney's courtroom drawing of Heidi Fleiss shedding a tear when she was convicted of three counts of pandering. The newspaper wrote that the drawings didn’t necessarily impress with their artistic skill, by any conventional standard. The beauty was in the immediacy and what it represents. The publication noted that it was pragmatic art, concerned with accurate reportage but also with fast production. The review also stated that the artist is seeking to capture something essential, snatched from a real life.

Chaney had a passion for the homeless and street people – real life. “A Tender Dignity” was a series of drawings of these subjects exhibited at a Los Angeles gallery. Shortly after this exhibit, Chaney was invited to attend a private tour at the Sybil Brand Institute, a women’s jail in Los Angeles. There, she learned that Ray Charles would be performing for a select audience of women inmates – she had been invited to capture Mr. Charles’ performance in several drawings. Not necessarily a jazz fan, Chaney was impressed with Charles’ sensitivity to his audience.

Chaney’s works of art have been published in several law reviews and publications. Her drawings have been exhibited at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and the United States Air Force Art Collection. Her works are also included in many private collections. Ms. Chaney passed away in 2005.