Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Donnamaria Bruton grew up in Detroit and graduated from Michigan State University in 1976 where she earned her BFA in Graphic Design. After graduation, Bruton continued her art career by studying art with her uncle, painter Edward Loper, Sr. in Wilmington, Delaware. During this time, Bruton often visited the collection of art in the famous Barnes Foundation to study the collection. Bruton continued her education and earned an MFA from Yale University in Painting and Printmaking in 1991. Between her MSU education and Yale, Bruton exhibited with pioneering African American gallerist Dell Pryor in Detroit.
In 1993, Bruton joined the Painting Department as Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, including an early solo exhibition at Woman and Their Work, Austin, Texas and exhibitions in Canada, Japan, France and the Korean Biennial. Donnamaria Bruton's work is in the permanent collection of the Art Galleries at Black Studies, University of Texas at Austin; Newport Art Museum; RISD Museum; and Yale University Art Gallery, among others.