Graydon Parrish
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Graydon Parrish (born April 3, 1970) is a realist painter living in Austin, Texas. He is both trained in and an exponent of the atelier method which emphasizes classical painting techniques.


Life

Graydon Parrish was born in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
, but spent the majority of his childhood in East Texas. His parents, collectors of American and European nineteenth-century art, exposed him to painting at a young age and influenced his choice to pursue an academic figurative style. Parrish attended the
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTWHSPVA) is a state school, public secondary school located in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. Booker T. Washington HSPVA en ...
and graduated in 1988. Unable to find further classical art training, he learned of the newly formed New York Academy of Art in the summer of that year created by
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
and
Stuart Pivar Stuart Pivar (born 1930) is an American art collector from Brooklyn, New York known for being one of the founders of the New York Academy of Art along with Andy Warhol. Trained as a scientist, he has long endorsed the study of anatomy and need f ...
. There, Parrish joined other students who have become leading figures in the classical art revival, including Jacob Collins, founder of the
Grand Central Academy of Art The Grand Central Atelier is an art school in the Long Island City neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City. Founded in 2006 by New York artist Jacob Collins, the school focuses on training artists in the classical art tradition. ...
where Parrish is now an instructor. At the New York Academy, Parrish met his mentor Michael Aviano, a student himself of illustrator and muralist
Frank J. Reilly Frank Joseph Reilly A.N.A. (1906–1967) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and teacher. He taught drawing and painting at the Grand Central School of Art, and illustration at Pratt Institute and Moore College of Art. However, he is be ...
. Since then Parrish has remodeled color theories by Albert Munsell and Josef Albers to fit traditional painting methods. In some ways, he and his colleagues share the reformist attitude of the Stuckist movement in England and are likewise often at odds with mainstream critical taste. After graduating from the New York Academy with an MFA in painting, Parrish went on to study at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
, earning an additional B.A. and majoring in independent studies. His large thesis painting, ''Remorse, Despondence and the Acceptance of an Early Death'', an allegory of the early AIDS epidemic, helped earn Parrish ''summa cum laude'' honors and was purchased by the trustees for the
Mead Art Museum Mead Art Museum houses the fine art collection of Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949, the building is named after architect William Rutherford Mead (class of 1867), of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. ...
. Parrish went on to show both at Hirschl and Adler Galleries in New York and Galerie Benamou in Paris, where he still exhibits. His subjects were mainly allegories and nudes. In 2001, the Tyler Museum of Art purchased "Victory", a nude inspired by the antique bronze "An Athlete Crowning Himself" in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Parrish's nudes are also informed by his research in French 19th-century art. With Gerald M. Ackerman, a leading expert in the field, he has revised and annotated the ''Cours de Dessins'' by Jean-Léon Gérôme and
Charles Bargue Charles Bargue (c. 1826/1827 – April 6, 1883) was a French painter and lithographer noted for devising an influential drawing course. Life and career He is mostly remembered for his ''Cours de dessin'', one of the most influential classical d ...
. In 2002, Douglas Hyland, the director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, approached Parrish to create an allegorical tribute to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. The completed painting, ''
The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy ''The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy'' is a painting by Graydon Parrish. History In 2002, Douglas Hyland, the director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, approached Graydon Parrish to create an allegorical tribute to victims of the Septembe ...
'', is over 18 feet long and is one of the largest realist paintings ever created in America. It has become somewhat controversial, both for its unabashedly academic style inspired by
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
and
William Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...
and for its highly symbolic content, said to express the cycle of denial and tragedy. It has been compared and contrasted with
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
's ''
Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...
'' and Théodore Géricault's ''
The Raft of the Medusa ''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791†...
'', both also comments on catastrophes. Today it hangs in the Chase Wing of the New Britain Museum of Art next to figurative pieces by
Julie Heffernan Julie Heffernan (born 1956 in Peoria, Illinois) is an American painter whose work has been described by the writer Rebecca Solnit as "a new kind of history painting" and by The New Yorker as "ironic rococo surrealism with a social-satirical twist ...
and
Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very l ...
. It has become a regular destination and subject of debate for New England residents. From 1994 to 2008 Parrish maintained a studio in
Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...
, sharing a home with Amherst College Professor Donald S. Pitkin, anthropologist and author of ''The House that Giacomo Built: History of an Italian Family 1898-1978''. Pitkin's ideas of community and family influenced Parrish's subsequent works, including his current Freedom Red project, a synthesis of art and activism which donates proceeds to HIV/AIDS charities. In 2008, he relocated to Austin, Texas to be near his family, teach, and contribute to the growing independent Austin art scene, including Arthouse at the Jones Center, the
Blanton Museum of Art The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art (often referred to as the Blanton or the BMA) at the University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest university art museums in the U.S. with 189,340 square feet devoted to temporary exhibitions, permanent coll ...
and the Austin Museum of Art.


Work

Graydon Parrish's style is
classical realism Classical Realism is an artistic movement in the late-20th and early 21st century in which drawing and painting place a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th-century neoclassicism and realism. Origins The term "Classic ...
.Meghan Daily, Jane Harris, Sarah Valdez, ''Curve: The Female Nude Now'' (New York: Universe Publishing/Rizzoli, 2003), 160–1, Parrish counts among his contemporary influences realist painters Odd Nerdrum, Jacob Collins, Steven Assael, Christopher Pugliese and Daniel Sprick, as well as Bridget Riley. Parrish's collectors include
Christopher Forbes Christopher "Kip" Forbes () is vice chairman of the Forbes Publishing company. He attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Princeton University. His brother is Steve Forbes, who has made multiple runs for the U.S. preside ...
, Michael Huffington, Diane Sawyer, Robert and Chris Emmons, Rita and David Traff, Vernon and Amy Faulconer, Therèse Garner, Lloyd and Renée Greif, and Paul and Melinda Sullivan. His public collections include the
Mead Art Museum Mead Art Museum houses the fine art collection of Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949, the building is named after architect William Rutherford Mead (class of 1867), of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. ...
in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Austin Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin Texas, the Tyler Museum of Art in Tyler, Texas, and the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Connecticut.


References


External links


Graydonparrish.com
the artist's official website *
Skotia Gallery"Technique as Influence" lecture at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, March 2010Lecture on Bouguereau at the Clark Museum, Williamstown, MA, March 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Graydon 1970 births 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters Painters from Texas Living people Artists from Phoenix, Arizona Painters from Arizona New York Academy of Art alumni Amherst College alumni 20th-century American male artists 21st-century American male artists