Robert M. Fisher
Encyclopedia
Robert Miles Fisher was an American
abstract art
ist in oils
, watercolor
, charcoal, and welded sculpture.
. Quotes are as they appeared in print.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio
, to a family of modest means and "Victorian pretensions as to the importance of art in daily life," Robert grew up often visiting art exhibits and shows with an aunt who was also an excellent artist in pastels and ceramic sculpture.
Robert moved to Plainfield, Vermont
in 1946, and began attending Goddard College
. It took him eight years to finish his degree, as he worked his way through college, and did not let school stand in the way of educating himself. For example, in 1952, Robert, along with "Jimmy" James Gahagan
(abstract artist), a Navy buddie of Jimmy's and artist Jerry Garrick, plus Allen Soule (future State Historian), drove a Ford Mercury woodie station wagon to visit Mexico
. The trip was a source of inspiration to them all.
Robert's degree thesis at Goddard was on international communities. He "... was not yet painting seriously." That took moving to New York City
, where he was offered the opportunity to work with Hans Hofmann
at his New York School.
In the 1950s and early 1960s Robert received two large commissions to work for other sculptors, Ibram Lassaw
(one of the founders of the Abstract Artists Association) and Herbert Ferber
. He went on to produce welded sculptures of his own, exhibiting in juried shows, selling, and receiving commissions, notably for a "...large stainless steel piece in which the mirror finish ... picked up the reflected the colors of the sun and fall leaves." Robert considered this "...to be a piece using modern techniques and materials, yet following the ancient polychromatic form of the Greeks and Egyptians." (See also Greek art
, and Egyptian art
.)
Mid-1960s, Robert moved back to Vermont
permanently, so he could live less expensively and thus devote more time to creative endeavors. That did not stop him from getting involved in the Civil Rights movement
. By the end of the 60's, he spent a total of two years working in Mississippi
, most of it helping develop cooperatives for low income people. He continued such community work until his death, mostly working with groups serving low income families and children, and organizations helping the families of those in prison.
One example of such ongoing outreach work is "Street Angel Diaries." Robert donated the rights to use "about thirty" of his paintings of street people to help raise awareness of the plight of the homeless. "Street Angels" is a multimedia project first presented in 2005 in Los Angeles, to great critical acclaim. In 2006, the program was presented eight times at the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena, CA, and in 2007 in Cape Cod
. Robert had "...been doing paintings of street people on and off for many years."
Through the 1970s and up to 1986, Robert produced shows in Vermont and on the Cape, received commissions for welded sculpture, taught at the University of Vermont
and at Goddard College, and continued to work in charcoal, oils, and watercolor. In autumn 1986, this rhythm was disrupted when Robert fell from a scaffold upon which he was painting and broke his back.
Roberts was not paralyzed from the fall due to the then experimental spinal clip procedure, seven weeks in hospital and six months in a full upper body cast. He was able to return to work, but it was almost a decade before he regained full mobility, and he never did regain his former vigor.
In 2000, PBS aired nationally a documentary "Hans Hoffmann: artist/teacher, teacher/artist," directed by Madeline Amgout and narrated by Robert DeNiro. Robert Fisher appeared in the program five times, and tried to offer to the audience "...some idea of the humor and joy (Hans) brought to his teaching."
Robert was working on a number of projects at the time of his death. One was a proposed book about Ibram Lassaw
, William, and Hans Hofmann
and their major role in helping America become aware of and accept non-objective modern art
, working with Ibram's daughter Denise. He had photos of the men that have never appeared in print, and was planning to include them in the book.
Another project was tentatively titled "Ancient Bottle, New Wine: The Impact of Hans Hofmann and His New York City Mosaic Murals on the World of Modern Art." The Hofmann murals (on 711 Third Avenue and on West 49th) consumed a year of Han's creative life, yet are largely overlooked despite their providing an enlightening window into his theory of "Pure Color."
Robert stated that "... as important to me as Hofmann's artistic theories and techniques were, perhaps even more crucial was one of Hofmann's stellar statements, that "There are a thousand talents in the world, but it takes work to become an artist." In times when there seemed to be reason to be discouraged with my choice of following his path of work, his words left me not overly disturbed at lack of either recognition or of great leaps of progression."
Robert needed not feel that he was not recognized. Not only did those that saw his art appreciate it, but he was appreciated for his wit, humor, and honor. He impacted many lives positively for many decades. He was an artist, mentor to many, a man of his convictions, and a citizen of the world.
Museum, and the Cape Museum in Dennis
.
Some notable exhibits include "USA on Paper," Copenhagen
(1990), a traveling show in the Czech Republic
(Gallery Zouf and Friends, 1993), and his last show, "" (Gallery, Burlington, Vermont
).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
ist in oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
, watercolor
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
, charcoal, and welded sculpture.
Biography
Much of the following information is based on an interview printed in "The Middlesex Newspaper," Vol. 18 No. 4, April 2007, published for the town of Middlesex, VermontMiddlesex, Vermont
Middlesex is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,729 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.9 square miles , of which, 39.7 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of...
. Quotes are as they appeared in print.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, to a family of modest means and "Victorian pretensions as to the importance of art in daily life," Robert grew up often visiting art exhibits and shows with an aunt who was also an excellent artist in pastels and ceramic sculpture.
Robert moved to Plainfield, Vermont
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 ....
in 1946, and began attending 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...
. It took him eight years to finish his degree, as he worked his way through college, and did not let school stand in the way of educating himself. For example, in 1952, Robert, along with "Jimmy" James Gahagan
James Gahagan
James Gahagan was an American abstract expressionist painter and one of the premier American colorists. He was an Associate Director of the Hans Hofmann School and created, with Hoffman, two major mosaic murals in New York City....
(abstract artist), a Navy buddie of Jimmy's and artist Jerry Garrick, plus Allen Soule (future State Historian), drove a Ford Mercury woodie station wagon to visit Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The trip was a source of inspiration to them all.
Robert's degree thesis at Goddard was on international communities. He "... was not yet painting seriously." That took moving 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...
, where he was offered the opportunity to work with Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
at his New York School.
In the 1950s and early 1960s Robert received two large commissions to work for other sculptors, Ibram Lassaw
Ibram Lassaw
Ibram Lassaw is an American sculptor, known for nonobjective construction in brazed metals.-Biography:Lassaw was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Russian émigré parents, he went to the U.S. in 1921. His family settled in Brooklyn, New York. He became a US citizen in 1928...
(one of the founders of the Abstract Artists Association) and Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber was an American sculptor and painter, born in New York City. He began his independent artistic studies in New York in 1926 at evening classes at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, while attending Columbia University Dental School...
. He went on to produce welded sculptures of his own, exhibiting in juried shows, selling, and receiving commissions, notably for a "...large stainless steel piece in which the mirror finish ... picked up the reflected the colors of the sun and fall leaves." Robert considered this "...to be a piece using modern techniques and materials, yet following the ancient polychromatic form of the Greeks and Egyptians." (See also Greek art
Greek art
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period...
, and Egyptian art
Egyptian Art
Egyptian Art may refer to:*The Art of ancient Egypt, c. 5000 BCE - c. 300 BCE*Hellenistic art of Egypt, c. 300 BCE - c. 100 CE, during the Ptolemaic dynasty*Coptic art c. 100 CE - present, see, e.g., Coptic iconography...
.)
Mid-1960s, Robert moved back to 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...
permanently, so he could live less expensively and thus devote more time to creative endeavors. That did not stop him from getting involved in the Civil Rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. By the end of the 60's, he spent a total of two years working in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, most of it helping develop cooperatives for low income people. He continued such community work until his death, mostly working with groups serving low income families and children, and organizations helping the families of those in prison.
One example of such ongoing outreach work is "Street Angel Diaries." Robert donated the rights to use "about thirty" of his paintings of street people to help raise awareness of the plight of the homeless. "Street Angels" is a multimedia project first presented in 2005 in Los Angeles, to great critical acclaim. In 2006, the program was presented eight times at the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena, CA, and in 2007 in Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
. Robert had "...been doing paintings of street people on and off for many years."
Through the 1970s and up to 1986, Robert produced shows in Vermont and on the Cape, received commissions for welded sculpture, taught at the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
and at Goddard College, and continued to work in charcoal, oils, and watercolor. In autumn 1986, this rhythm was disrupted when Robert fell from a scaffold upon which he was painting and broke his back.
Roberts was not paralyzed from the fall due to the then experimental spinal clip procedure, seven weeks in hospital and six months in a full upper body cast. He was able to return to work, but it was almost a decade before he regained full mobility, and he never did regain his former vigor.
In 2000, PBS aired nationally a documentary "Hans Hoffmann: artist/teacher, teacher/artist," directed by Madeline Amgout and narrated by Robert DeNiro. Robert Fisher appeared in the program five times, and tried to offer to the audience "...some idea of the humor and joy (Hans) brought to his teaching."
Robert was working on a number of projects at the time of his death. One was a proposed book about Ibram Lassaw
Ibram Lassaw
Ibram Lassaw is an American sculptor, known for nonobjective construction in brazed metals.-Biography:Lassaw was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Russian émigré parents, he went to the U.S. in 1921. His family settled in Brooklyn, New York. He became a US citizen in 1928...
, William, and Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
and their major role in helping America become aware of and accept non-objective modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
, working with Ibram's daughter Denise. He had photos of the men that have never appeared in print, and was planning to include them in the book.
Another project was tentatively titled "Ancient Bottle, New Wine: The Impact of Hans Hofmann and His New York City Mosaic Murals on the World of Modern Art." The Hofmann murals (on 711 Third Avenue and on West 49th) consumed a year of Han's creative life, yet are largely overlooked despite their providing an enlightening window into his theory of "Pure Color."
Robert stated that "... as important to me as Hofmann's artistic theories and techniques were, perhaps even more crucial was one of Hofmann's stellar statements, that "There are a thousand talents in the world, but it takes work to become an artist." In times when there seemed to be reason to be discouraged with my choice of following his path of work, his words left me not overly disturbed at lack of either recognition or of great leaps of progression."
Robert needed not feel that he was not recognized. Not only did those that saw his art appreciate it, but he was appreciated for his wit, humor, and honor. He impacted many lives positively for many decades. He was an artist, mentor to many, a man of his convictions, and a citizen of the world.
Works
Robert's works can be found in homes and with collectors across the USA and in Europe. His works are also found in the ProvincetownProvincetown, 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...
Museum, and the Cape Museum in Dennis
Dennis, Massachusetts
Dennis is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; located near the center of Cape Cod. The population was 14,207 at the 2010 census.The town encompasses five distinct villages, each of which has its own post office...
.
Some notable exhibits include "USA on Paper," Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(1990), a traveling show in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
(Gallery Zouf and Friends, 1993), and his last show, "" (Gallery, Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
).