James Gahagan
Encyclopedia
James Gahagan was an American
abstract expressionist painter
and one of the premier American colorist
s. He was an Associate Director of the Hans Hofmann School and created, with Hoffman, two major mosaic
mural
s in New York City
.
, New York
, in 1927. The son of a labour union organiser, he served in the United States Navy
during the Second World War and then attended Goddard College
, Plainfield
, Vermont
from 1947 to 1951 with American
sculptor Richard Lippold
, and fellow abstract artist Robert M. Fisher
. He then moved to New York City
, and became involved in projects with abstract artist Han Hofmann. In the 1950s when co-founded the James Gallery in 1954, and organising the Artist Tenants Association, as well as being its first president.
Gahagan's work was being exhibited in New York
, Provincetown
, San Francisco, Los Angeles
and Paris
. In America specifically it is found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the Chrysler Museum
in Norfolk, Virginia
, and the University of California
Art Museum in Berkeley
. It was also featured in a 1957 travelling exhibition to 64 nations funded by the United Nations
, and chosen by Art News for a 1959 exhibit
of twelve Americans in Spoleto
, Italy
, at the same time he was awarded a Longview Purchase Grant.
In 1962 Gahagan was one leader of an artists strike which succeeded in gaining zoning for artists' lofts in New York City
, such as Westbeth, and co-founding the Artists Tenant Association. Gahagan taught art at a number of universities
in America
from 1965 onwards, including the Pratt Institute
, Columbia University
Graduate School of the Arts and Goddard College
as Chairman of the Art Department.
The James Gahagan School of Fine Arts was opened from 1971 - 1974 in Woodbury, Vermont
, and Gahagan was a guest teacher at Notre Dame University, Indiana
, in 1978, Humboldt State University
, California, in 1989, and the Vermont Studio Center
from 1984 until 1999. He had also become a critic at the International Art Workshop in New Zealand
between 1991 and 1992. He died in 1999 at his home in Woodbury, Vermont.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abstract expressionist 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...
and one of the premier American colorist
Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates...
s. He was an Associate Director of the Hans Hofmann School and created, with Hoffman, two major mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
Gahagan was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in 1927. The son of a labour union organiser, he served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the Second World War and then attended Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
, Plainfield
Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainfield is located at ....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
from 1947 to 1951 with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor Richard Lippold
Richard Lippold
Richard Lippold was an American sculptor, known for his geometric constructions using wire as a medium....
, and fellow abstract artist Robert M. Fisher
Robert M. Fisher
Robert Miles Fisher , was an American abstract artist in oils, watercolor, charcoal, and welded sculpture.-Biography:...
. He then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and became involved in projects with abstract artist Han Hofmann. In the 1950s when co-founded the James Gallery in 1954, and organising the Artist Tenants Association, as well as being its first president.
Gahagan's work was being exhibited in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In America specifically it is found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the Chrysler Museum
Chrysler Museum of Art
The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum in the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was originally founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. , donated most of his extensive collection to the museum...
in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, and the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Art Museum in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. It was also featured in a 1957 travelling exhibition to 64 nations funded by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, and chosen by Art News for a 1959 exhibit
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
of twelve Americans in Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
, 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...
, at the same time he was awarded a Longview Purchase Grant.
In 1962 Gahagan was one leader of an artists strike which succeeded in gaining zoning for artists' lofts in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, such as Westbeth, and co-founding the Artists Tenant Association. Gahagan taught art at a number of universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1965 onwards, including the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Graduate School of the Arts and Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
as Chairman of the Art Department.
The James Gahagan School of Fine Arts was opened from 1971 - 1974 in Woodbury, Vermont
Woodbury, Vermont
Woodbury is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 809 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.1 square miles , of which 37.8 square miles is land and 1.3 square miles is water...
, and Gahagan was a guest teacher at Notre Dame University, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, in 1978, Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
, California, in 1989, and the Vermont Studio Center
Vermont Studio Center
The Vermont Studio Center is a non-profit organization located in the town of Johnson in the U.S. state of Vermont. VSC conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the U.S., with a significant population of international artists in residency...
from 1984 until 1999. He had also become a critic at the International Art Workshop in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
between 1991 and 1992. He died in 1999 at his home in Woodbury, Vermont.
Gahagan's works
- Askart.com pages on Gahagan [includes a COLOR IMAGE]
- Artnet.com on Gahagan [includes COLOR IMAGES]