Artist, athlete, and financial adviser Mallory A. White, a Provincetown part-timer for 30 years, died on Feb. 26, 2025 at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. The cause was pulmonary fibrosis after a bout of pneumonia. She was 81.
Mallory first came to Provincetown in 1996 with her partner, Gail Bliss, who had been visiting the Outer Cape since the 1980s. The town’s artistic community led Mallory to explore her own creativity.
In addition to financially supporting the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and the Provincetown Commons, she was one of the first artists in residence at the Commons. After her residency, she struggled to find studio space in Provincetown. When Mallory noticed a building for rent at 74 Shank Painter Road, she saw that the space could be used for studios. She approached the Commons board, suggested that the space be adapted for artist studios available long-term, and donated $25,000 to help accomplish this, all with her signature determination and kindness.
“She had a habit of staying on top of details that were important,” said Pete Hocking, president of the Commons board. “She knew how to do that in a way that didn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable. She knew what she was doing.” In March 2024, the Commons Community Studios opened, with eight individual workspaces and a communal gallery in a town where studio space has become a rarity.
A keen observer, Mallory found beauty with ease. She observed birds on the pier in Provincetown and also near her home in Florida during the winter, using photographs as a compositional device for her paintings. Working primarily in oil and acrylic paint on canvas or linen, Mallory captured her subjects with a practical and lively approach. She painted still lifes, figures, and abstract pieces. Her work often reflected her sense of humor in their composition or in text she incorporated into more abstract work.
“She let her eye travel and find something beautiful and let herself make paintings of it,” said Hocking. “She was inquisitive, open, and generous — all things I hope to cultivate in my life.”
Mallory White was born in Kansas City, Mo. to the late Eldridge White, known as “Ogg,” and Susanne White. Ogg was a corporate travel agent, and Susanne was an artist, model, and clothing designer. “She was my protector in all things,” said her brother, Eldridge. Mallory and Ridge had a vibrant childhood, he said, full of adventures in their Kansas City neighborhood. Mallory grew up visiting the Nelson-Atkins Fine Arts Museum in Kansas City and was an avid tennis player.
She attended the Barstow School in Kansas City and earned a degree in finance from Southern Methodist University in 1966. She started her career at Smith Barney in New York as a financial analyst but quickly saw how career growth for women in finance was almost nonexistent compared to her male peers. She left the industry, moved to Tucson, Ariz., and became a tennis coach.
The arts scene in Santa Fe, N.Mex. led to her next move, and she continued her tennis coaching there. It was a Santa Fe tennis student who worked in finance who encouraged her to pursue a financial career again.
Working as an investment broker, she met Carl Luff, a CPA who became her business partner. They opened their own brokerage office, White & Luff Financial, in 1997 and worked together until Mallory’s death. “She was a great partner,” said Luff. “We worked together for 25 years and never had an argument.”
It was also in Santa Fe that Mallory met Gail Bliss in 1995 at a mutual friend’s party. They hit it off, sparking a 30-year relationship. Gail introduced Mallory to Provincetown, and the two spent increasing time on the Cape as the years went by. In 2010, they moved from Santa Fe to Hollywood, Fla. for the winters. They joined the local dragon boat team in Hollywood, Blazing Paddles, and raced on ornately decorated canoe-like boats.
In an artist statement, Mallory recognized the effect the different places she called home had on her art. “The influences of the great painters in northern New Mexico and Provincetown have been enormous in my life as a painter,” she wrote. “The teachers, mentors and artist friends I’ve had have been fabulous. I thank them all for their wisdom and help on my journey.”
Mallory is survived by her partner of 30 years, Gail Bliss of Provincetown and Hollywood, Fla.; her brother, Ridge White, and wife JoAnn White of Kansas City, Mo.; and nephews Jason White, wife Elba, and their children, Helen and Kahler, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Chris White, wife Anna, and their children, Lela, Annie, Christopher, of Atlanta, Ga., and Tripp White, wife Stephanie White, and their children, Ford and Baker, of Temecula, Calif.
The family asks that donations in Mallory’s memory be made to the Commons, 46 Bradford St., Provincetown 02657.
