In 1909, Shirley married Lawrence Russell, an engineer. In the course of her art career, Russell had three one-woman exhibitions at the
Honolulu Museum of Art, and taught art at the
University of Hawaii and the
Honolulu Museum of Art. She launched many young artists on their careers when they were her students at
McKinley High School, including
Satoru Abe (1926–2025) and
John Chin Young (1909–1997). Although she painted in representational style herself, she was a staunch supporter of abstract art, and did some abstract work herself throughout her career. She continued to paint almost daily until her death in Honolulu in 1985, at the age of 98. The
Hawaii State Art Museum,
Honolulu Museum of Art,
Isaacs Art Center, and
Tokyo National Museum are among the public collections holding works by Shirley Russell. ==References==