Edward Meneeley (December 17, 1927 in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

- December 29, 2012 in

Weatherly, Pennsylvania Weatherly is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located northwest of Jim Thorpe and south of Wilkes-Barre. The population was 2,525 at the 2010 census. History Originally called "Black ...

) was an American artist who created paintings, sculptures, and prints.

Life

The only child of Edward Sr. and Ludwina Halter, Meneeley joined the Navy shortly after the Japanese invasion of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. He spent most of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a medic caring for paraplegics in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, where he befriended Marlon Brando during the filming of '' The Men'', which took place on his ward. Upon discharge, Meneeley returned to Wilkes-Barre and attended the Murray School of Art and began making frequent trips to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was then recalled for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, where he served as a Navy photographer at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. When released, Meneeley staged two solo exhibitions at the Donovan Gallery in Philadelphia before moving to Manhattan to attend New York's

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

on his second installment of the GI Bill.

Work

A three-time recipient of grants from the

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressio ...

, as well as the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and

British Arts Council The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council ...

, Meneeley staged his first one-person exhibit in New York in 1962. Prior to making his mark on the arts community as an artist, Meneeley was best known for his archival photographic record of the works of others, first as a staff photographer of Contemporary Slides and later as owner of Portable Gallery Press and ESM Documentations. His last four decades included several solo and group shows in New York, London, and other major cities including Athens, Edinburgh, Atlanta, and Wilmington, North Carolina. Meneeley cut his teeth in the world of abstract expressionism and the New York School beginning in his early adulthood in the 1950s. It was then when he was flavored by rapport with the likes of

Franz Kline Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mot ...

and

Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...

through their artistic exchanges at the legendary

Cedar Tavern The Cedar Tavern (or Cedar Street Tavern) was a bar and restaurant at the eastern edge of Greenwich Village, New York City. In its heyday, known as a gathering place for avant garde writers and artists, it was located at 24 University Place, ne ...

and the Artists' Club. He visited the studios and became friends with

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...

, Hans Hofmann,

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of the New York School, which also inc ...

, Robert Rauschenberg,

Theodoros Stamos Theodoros Stamos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Στάμος) (December 31, 1922 – February 2, 1997) was a Greek-American painter. He is one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters (the so-called " Iras ...

, and

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 Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, among others. His first hand experience with the New York School was furthered by his serving as archival photographer for major exhibits at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

under the supervision of

Alfred Barr Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

and Dorothy Miller, as well as major shows at such cutting edge galleries as Leo Castelli, Andre Emmerich, Alan Stone, Eleanor Ward,

Betty Parsons Betty Parsons (born Betty Bierne Pierson, January 31, 1900 – July 23, 1982) was an American artist, art dealer, and collector known for her early promotion of Abstract Expressionism. She is regarded as one of the most influential and dynamic f ...

, and Martha Jackson. In 2010, he was given a solo exhibition within the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York. Meneeley died on December 29, 2012, at the age of 85.

References

* Castelman, Riva. "Printed Art: A View of Two Decades" Museum of Modern Art Catalog * Endick, Kenneth. (November 28, 1997) "Exhibit of this Master Artist Belies His Age" The Express-Times * Fallon, Brian. (November 24, 1976) "Ed Meneeeley at Dowling Street" The Irish Times * Glueck, Grace. (November 21, 1965) "Instant Art" New York Times * Heyer, Marigrace. (May 26, 2005) "Art Show Features Noted Local" Times News * Kenedy, R.C. (October 1971) Art International * Melville, Robert. (September 3, 1971) "Jelly Babies" New Statesman * Morgan, Roy. (October 18, 1989) "Misericordia Boasts a Striking Art Show" The Times Leader * Outwater, Myra. (October 9, 1999) "Meneeley Show an Intriguing Testament to Travels, Friends, and Experiences" The Morning Call * Thomas, Robert. (April 1971) Art and Artists * Wolff, Theodore. (November 24, 1981) "The Many Masks of Modern Art" The Christian Science Monitor * Wolff, Theodore. (February 10, 1982) "Fine Edward Meneeley Show" The Christian Science Monitor ;Notes

External links

www.edwardmeneeley.com
*Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meneeley, Edward 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists 1927 births 2012 deaths People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors 20th-century American printmakers