Charles Brady (artist)
Encyclopedia
Charles Brady was a painter who was born and trained in New York
and spent most of his life in Ireland
.
Charles Brady was in the US Navy
in World War II
; he did mundane jobs after returning from war and took night classes in drawing
. In 1948 he entered the Art Students League of New York
and took a year long course. After art school he continued to paint, beginning to exhibit in the early 1950s and at the same time working to support himself, mostly in menial hotel jobs, but also for a while as guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
.
He had his first solo exhibition in the Urban Gallery in 1955 but felt at this time that his life was becoming too confused; he writes (O'Regan 1993):
To escape, he travelled by ferry to Ireland in 1956 and began painting the Irish countryside. He returned to New York in 1958 but in 1959 he moved back to Ireland and settled there for good, first in Dublin and then Dún Laoghaire
. Poverty forced him to paint on small pieces of cardboard and small pictures became typical; he began to value the intimacy, and affordability, of small paintings. He writes (O'Regan 1993)
In the 1960s he began painting still lives of every day objects such as envelopes and tickets and this also became typical. These small, modest, compositions allowed him to refine a spare almost mystical style. David Scott (1989) writes
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...
and spent most of his life in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Charles Brady was in the US 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...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; he did mundane jobs after returning from war and took night classes in 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...
. In 1948 he entered 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...
and took a year long course. After art school he continued to paint, beginning to exhibit in the early 1950s and at the same time working to support himself, mostly in menial hotel jobs, but also for a while as guard at 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...
.
He had his first solo exhibition in the Urban Gallery in 1955 but felt at this time that his life was becoming too confused; he writes (O'Regan 1993):
- ". . I was really lost. I wasn't capable of living that way - the very late nights, the heavy drinking, the carousing, the women - I couldn't seem to get my life together."
To escape, he travelled by ferry to Ireland in 1956 and began painting the Irish countryside. He returned to New York in 1958 but in 1959 he moved back to Ireland and settled there for good, first in Dublin and then Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
. Poverty forced him to paint on small pieces of cardboard and small pictures became typical; he began to value the intimacy, and affordability, of small paintings. He writes (O'Regan 1993)
- "I had hoped, from the very beginning, to sell my paintings if possible to ordinary people and my paintings would fit into living rooms or bedrooms"
In the 1960s he began painting still lives of every day objects such as envelopes and tickets and this also became typical. These small, modest, compositions allowed him to refine a spare almost mystical style. David Scott (1989) writes
- "his speciality is the raising of an object - every day or of vague historical interest [. . .] - to the intensity of aesthetic experience by the use of subtly simplified composition and muted colours".