MAURY ORNEST – March 4, 1960-July 31, 2018

Maury Ornest’s many talents took him from the baseball diamond to the artist’s easel. Born in Vancouver, Canada, he was the youngest of four children of Harry and Ruth Ornest.

Fun-loving, creative, and bright, Maury became a star player who attended college and played minor league baseball until injuries ended his career.
When Maury was 23, he began working in the business office for his father, who had recently bought the St. Louis Blues hockey team and arena. 27

Over the next few years, Maury began to experience paranoia and delusions. He suffered a psychotic break. His life changed almost overnight. While searching desperately for effective treatment, he began to paint.

Despite the isolation he experienced, he was an eternal optimist, evident in the joyous nature, wit and vibrant colors of his paintings. Upon his death from heart disease, his family discovered some 1400 paintings and journals in his Beverly Hills home studio and storage units.