Deane G. Keller
Encyclopedia
Deane Galloway Keller was an American
artist
, academic and author
. Keller was a draftsman
, painter
, sculptor, and teacher
who instructed students in the visual arts
for forty years, most notably in figure drawing
and the artistic application of human anatomy
. He is credited with explaining that "drawing offers a unique record of an encounter with a culture, of experience transformed from fleeting moment to lasting resonance."
and Katherine Hall Keller.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Art History from Yale University
, where he studied under his father, and a Master of Arts
in Education from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut
. Additionally, Keller studied in Florence
, Italy
, with Nera Simi, and anatomy under David Rubins at the Herron School of Art
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
. The head of the drawing department, in 2001 he was honored with the endowed Deane G. Keller Chair of Classical Drawing and Figurative Art, a position which he held until his death. Keller was also a member of the faculty of the New York Academy of Art
, the Art Students League of New York
, the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford
, and the Woodstock School of Art. He lectured on drawing
and draftsmanship at the Yale Center for British Art
, the Wadsworth Atheneum
, and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University
.
A portrait, landscape
and still life
painter, Keller was in his later years engaged in a series of large charcoal drawings of draped figures inspired by his travels to the Middle East
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, academic and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Keller was a draftsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor, and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
who instructed students in the visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
for forty years, most notably in figure drawing
Figure drawing
In art, a figure drawing is a study of the human form in its various shapes and body postures - sitting, standing or even sleeping. It is a study or stylized depiction of the human form, with the line and form of the human figure as the primary objective, rather than the subject person. It is a...
and the artistic application of human anatomy
Human anatomy
Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
. He is credited with explaining that "drawing offers a unique record of an encounter with a culture, of experience transformed from fleeting moment to lasting resonance."
Early life
He was the son of DeaneDeane Keller
Deane Keller was an American artist, academic, soldier, art restorer and preservationist. He taught for 40 years at Yale University's School of Fine Arts.-Early life:Keller was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1901...
and Katherine Hall Keller.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Art History from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he studied under his father, and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Education from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Additionally, Keller studied in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, with Nera Simi, and anatomy under David Rubins at the Herron School of Art
Herron School of Art
Herron School of Art and Design, a school of Indiana University, was ranked 45th overall by U.S. News and World Report among graduate schools of fine arts in 2008....
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Career
For 25 years Keller served as a professor at the Lyme Academy College of Fine ArtsLyme Academy College of Fine Arts
The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts is an art college in Old Lyme, Connecticut-History:The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts was founded in 1976 by Elisabeth Gordon Chandler as a figurative academy for the teaching of sculpture, figure drawing, Illustration and painting dedicated to the fine arts...
. The head of the drawing department, in 2001 he was honored with the endowed Deane G. Keller Chair of Classical Drawing and Figurative Art, a position which he held until his death. Keller was also a member of the faculty of the New York Academy of Art
New York Academy of Art
The New York Academy of Art or the Graduate School of Figurative Art is an American private, not-for-profit art university, located at 111 Franklin Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City.-Foundation:...
, the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
, and the Woodstock School of Art. He lectured on drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
and draftsmanship at the Yale Center for British Art
Yale Center for British Art
The Yale Center for British Art is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University which houses the most comprehensive collection of British Art outside the United Kingdom...
, the Wadsworth Atheneum
Wadsworth Atheneum
The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
, and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
A portrait, landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
and still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
painter, Keller was in his later years engaged in a series of large charcoal drawings of draped figures inspired by his travels to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Selected works
Keller authored numerous articles, and wrote two books.- "The Fine Art of Drawing," American Artist. Vol. 64, No. 690 (2000): 20. OCLC 92611357
- Figure Drawing in the Academy Tradition, 1890-1998
- 2002 -- Draftsman's Handbook: A Resource and Study Guide for Drawing from Life. Old Lyme, Connecticut: Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. OCLC 51687128
Collections
Keller's work is in included in a number of public and private collections.- Wadsworth AtheneumWadsworth AtheneumThe Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. - Brandywine River MuseumBrandywine River MuseumThe Brandywine River Museum is a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Brandywine River. The museum showcases the art of Andrew Wyeth a major American realist painter, and his family: his father, N.C...
in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. - Slater Museum at the Norwich Free AcademyNorwich Free AcademyThe Norwich Free Academy founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston andseveral...
in Norwich, Connecticut. - Woodstock School of Art.
- Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine UniversityBellarmine UniversityBellarmine University is an independent, private, Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. The liberal arts institution opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louisville and named after the Cardinal Saint Robert...
, Louisville, Kentucky. - Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. - Hospital of St. Raphael (where his statue of Mother Elizabeth Seton graces the entrance hall).
- Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford.
- Lyme Academy.
Artists influenced by Keller
Keller believed that "for some years the fine art of draftsmanship has suffered some eclipse because learning the craft of figure drawing has been only casually addressed and even discredited by some." His students are evidence to the contrary.- Eric Mannella.
- Allana Benham
- T. Allen Lawson.
External links
- Lyme Academy exhibition archives
- Press release for Lyme Academy exhibition at Saatchi website
- "Artistic lineage: Deane G. Keller," Atelier de Brésoles (Montreal, Canada). September 1, 2008; retrieved November 1, 2009.