Edward Meneeley
Encyclopedia
Edward Meneeley is an American artist who works primarily in painting, sculpture, and printmaking.
. He spent most of World War II
as a medic caring for paraplegics in Riverside California, 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. He was then recalled for the Korean War
, 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
on his second installment of the GI Bill.
as well as the National Endowment for the Arts
and British Arts Council, Meneeley staged his first one-person exhibit in New York in 1962. Prior to making his mark 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
and Frank O’Hara through their artistic exchanges at the legendary Cedar Tavern
and the Artist’s Club.
He visited the studios and became friends with Willem de Kooning
, Helen Frankenthaler
, Hans Hoffman, Jasper Johns
, Robert Motherwell
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Theodoros Stamos
and Andy Warhol
, 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
under the supervision of Alfred Barr
and Dorothy Miller as well as major shows at such cutting edge galleries as Leo Castelli
, Andre Emmerich, Alan Stone
, Eleanor Ward, Betty Parsons
, and Martha Jackson.
Meneeley remains a working artist and in 2010 was given a solo exhibition within the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York.
Life
The only child of Edward Sr. and Ludwina Halter, Meneeley joined the Navy shortly after the Japanese invasion of Pearl harborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. He spent most of 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...
as a medic caring for paraplegics in Riverside California, where he befriended Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
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. He was then recalled for the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, 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
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
on his second installment of the GI Bill.
Work
A three-time recipient of grants from the Pollock-Krasner FoundationPollock-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 expressionist painter and the widow of fellow painter Jackson...
as well as the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and British Arts Council, Meneeley staged his first one-person exhibit in New York in 1962. Prior to making his mark 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
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
and the New York School
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
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
Franz Jozef Kline was an American painter mainly associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement centered around New York in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and attended Girard College, an academy in Philadelphia for fatherless boys...
and Frank O’Hara through their artistic exchanges at the legendary Cedar Tavern
Cedar Tavern
The Cedar Tavern was a bar and restaurant in New York City last at 82 University Place between 11th and 12th Streets. It was famous as a former hangout of many prominent Abstract Expressionist painters and beat writers...
and the Artist’s Club.
He visited the studios and became friends with Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler is an American abstract expressionist painter. She is a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work in six decades she has spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work...
, Hans Hoffman, Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
, Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Theodoros Stamos
Theodoros Stamos
Theodoros Stamos , was a Greek American artist. He is one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters , which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko...
and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, 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
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
under the supervision of Alfred Barr
Alfred Barr
Alfred Hamilton Barr, Jr. , known as Alfred H. Barr, Jr., was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City...
and Dorothy Miller as well as major shows at such cutting edge galleries as Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli was an American art dealer. He was best known to the public as an art dealer whose gallery showcased cutting edge Contemporary art for five decades...
, Andre Emmerich, Alan Stone
Alan Stone
Alan Stone may refer to:*Alan A. Stone, scholar of law and psychology at Harvard, and film critic*Alan Stone , founder of the Chicago Opera Theater*Alan Stone...
, Eleanor Ward, Betty Parsons
Betty Parsons
Betty Parsons, born Betty Bierne Pierson, was an American artist and art dealer known for her early promotion of Abstract Expressionism. She was known as "the den mother of Abstract Expressionism"...
, and Martha Jackson.
Meneeley remains a working artist and in 2010 was given a solo exhibition within the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York.