Laura Alice Miles Spong, the wife of the late Ernest Spong, Jr., after an extended illness has quietly passed away. Born in 1926, a native of Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of Vanderbilt University Cum Laude. She was among South Carolina's most prominent non-objective abstract painters. A woman of lifelong Christian faith, she committed a part of each day to prayer and her relationship with God.

Laura once said her greatest achievement was not her artistic accomplishments, but her six children. Bennett Jared Spong (Sally), Blakeney DuBose Spong (Ellen), Katherine Spong Smith (Rick), Ernest Maye Spong III (Elizabeth), Thomas Miles Spong (Louise), and Joseph Kershaw Spong (Wanda) were the primary focus of her life.
Her artistic inclinations, even during the raising of her family, was a calling that constantly beckoned, but the responsibility of parenting afforded little opportunity to develop her art in full. With the maturing of her children she began the pursuit of her artistic career in earnest. In 2017, she was presented the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement. She was included in Abstract Art in South Carolina 1949-2012, the South Carolina State Museum's historic overview of abstract art in South Carolina. In recent years, she has had solo exhibitions at the Spartanburg Museum of Art, and with Carl Blair at the Florence Museum of Art. She was awarded the Jasper Master of Art Award in 2015 and on September 5, 2017 the City of Columbia proclaimed Laura Sprong Day. Since her 80th birthday exhibition in 2006 and under guidance and encouragement of IF Art and Wim Roefs, she has blossomed with multiple solo exhibitions throughout the state, including a retrospective at the University of South Carolina. She was also represented in many group shows throughout Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Her paintings were chosen to decorate the film set of "Drop Dead Diva" and were once displayed in Times Square. Laura was a woman of great determination and conviction; she never painted to please, but to express what she felt within herself. She has been described by an art critic as the, "Lost sister of abstract expressionism."

She inspired many young artists to believe in their art and work hard, to stay loyal to themselves, and never to compromise simply for flattery or gain. Laura supported equal rights for women, including spearheading more than three community art projects in the midlands geared towards raising awareness of domestic violence against women.
Laura Spong was an artist of great integrity and it was this integrity that released her immense talent. She will be greatly missed by her large and extended family and her many friends, particularly her dear friends at Stormwaters Studios.
Laura is survived by her children, Bennett Jared Spong (Sally), Blakeney DuBose Spong (Ellen), Katherine Spong Smith (Rick), Ernest Maye Spong, III (Elizabeth), Thomas Miles Spong (Louise) and Joseph Kershaw Spong (Wanda); along with 14 grandchildren, Will Smith (Lauren), Jared Smith (Ashley), Katie Smith, Josiah Spong, Jacob Spong, Samuel Spong, Blakeney Spong, Pelham Spong Lange (Gus), Shelby Spong, Miles Spong (Jodi), Shannon Spong LaCroix (Steven), Katherine Spong Winstead (Matt), Julia Spong, and Anna Spong; as well as her nine great grandchildren, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Smith, William Smith, Emma Smith, Avery Smith, Aaela Spong, Thomas Spong, Mile LaCroix, and Pelham Lange.

Quotes from fellow artists
1. "Laura Sprong is now recognized as one of SC's most prominent painters and the state's premier abstract expressionist." - Lynn Robertson
2. "She is a grande dame. The role model extraordinaire of the visual arts in SC. – Heidi Harr-Hope
3. Laura Sprong has become an iconic painter in SC and all by herself, a destination for art lovers and artists from across SC, NC, and GA. Art lovers make their way to Columbia…to see and buy her work." – Wim Roefs
4. "Laura's connection to our struggling art community is profound! Her influence not only from her work, but fron her determined and focused activity to paint, exhibit, and collaborate is a tremendous force that inspires and binds more than one generation of artists and art lovers." – Clark Ellefson
5. "Thank you for being a stalwart beacon of creativity and artistic success for other artists (present and future) here in Columbia." – Lee Snelgrove
6. "She is a creative powerhouse. She touched and motivated others to care more, give more, and use their gifts to make a difference. This is a pwerful thing when laura comes to you saying she has an idea, you might as well just sit down and listen, and it is usually a good one. She doesn't paint to finish a painting. She paints to paint. She is the artist. She is my grand mentor. She is my role model." – Eileen Blyth

Quotes from Laura Sprong
1. "I paint because I love the process of painting, to me, it's exciting to throw a lot of paint on a clean canvas and then seek to solve the problem of creating order out of chaos. I like that with non-objective work, nothing is decided for you-no color, no design, no subject matter. The search is wide open."
2. "I love nothing better than to throw paint and lines on a canvas and then solve the problem I have created, the problem being how to pull a coherent painting out of chaos of lines, shapes and colors."
3. "The way my paintings turn out…is influenced by what goes on in my life. Interacting with people, seeking other artists' work, reading books and articles, taking in the news, experiencing what goes on around me influences my state of mind, which has an impact on my paintings."
4. "My best work comes when I don't think too much."
5. "You have to let go of your supports if you want to get past barriers."
6. "My hope is through my work a connection will be made between me and those on a similar journey. My vision is that everything is connected. All is part of a whole."

The service will be held Saturday, Aug 18th at 2 o'clock at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 1100 Sumter St., Columbia SC. The family will receive friends following the service in Satterlee Hall of Trinity Cathedral.

lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Lawrence Place, 2400 Waites Road, Columbia, SC 29204 or by visiting stlawrenceplace.org.