Robert Neffson
Encyclopedia
Robert Neffson is an American
painter
currently known for his street scenes of various cities around the world, as well as his early still lifes and figure painting
s.
and grew up in Little Neck, New York. He was raised by a single father, after his mother, an amateur artist, died when he was seven. He began attending classes at the Art Students League of New York
in 1961, under the instruction of artists such as Lennart Anderson and Sidney Dickinson. As a student he copied old master
s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. His study of, among others, the painters Jan Vermeer, Thomas Eakins
, Camille Corot, and Canaletto
, developed his skills further. While attending the Boston University College of Fine Arts
, from which he graduated cum laude in 1971, Neffson’s work attracted the attention of his professors, including James Weeks and the abstract expressionist painter, Philip Guston
.
He also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine
and the Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts
, both on full scholarship. Achieving his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts for Painting in 1973, again from Boston University
, Neffson taught briefly at the DeCordova Museum
in Lincoln, Massachusetts
, and Fisher College
in Boston. He received the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation and the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation Grants in support of his work.
In 1976, Neffson's life and work were significantly changed when he was awarded the Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship
for Painting in Rome
. During his stay in Italy
, he met William Bailey at the American Academy in Rome
, who had a strong influence on his still life paintings at the time. Upon his return in 1977, Neffson was given a year long Artist-in-Residence Grant by the Roswell Museum and Art Center in New Mexico
, followed by teaching positions at Arizona State University
in Tempe
and Pennsylvania State University
. At that time he received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Visual Artist Grant in 1983. He has also taught at Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn
, New York and has continued to teach Painting from Life for many years at the Art Students League of New York
.
. While represented from 1985 to 1998 by Gallery Henoch in New York City, he was inspired by Richard Estes
and Chuck Close
and was among a group of second-generation Photorealist painters that were exhibiting in SoHo
galleries such as O. K. Harris Works of Art and Louis Meisel Gallery.
In 2004, Neffson was commissioned to create a painting of the near-completed new 7 World Trade Center
building, which was presented to developer Larry Silverstein
of Silverstein Properties in a ceremony presided over by New York State Governor George Pataki
and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
.
In 2007, Neffson authored the catalog to the British painter Clive Head’s exhibition at Marlborough Fine Arts, London. The text consists of an introduction and letters between the two artists centered on their discussion of the creative process.
Robert Neffson joined Hammer Galleries in 1998, the New York institution which recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. He has also exhibited at London’s Plus One Gallery since 2005. In 2009 he was invited to join the Bernarducci.Meisel Gallery in New York City. The director of the gallery, Louis K. Meisel, originated the phrase Photorealism
in 1968, which was first used in a Whitney Museum catalog in 1970. Neffson also began exhibiting with the Albemarle Gallery in London during the same year. He continues to produce works that are exhibited and collected internationally.
Robert Neffson is currently based in New York City
, where he lives with his wife, Karin Choy and their dog
, Bagel.
Neffson sees the geometry of the city foremost—the parallel lines of the architecture, the grids of the streets and windows, the angular shadows the sun casts between skyscrapers. One of Neffson’s fortes is sorting out messy networks of objects, shadows, and reflections in store windows, which he does by systematically breaking down each component into a series of perfect planes. ARTNews, November 2004.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
currently known for his street scenes of various cities around the world, as well as his early still lifes and figure painting
Figure painting
Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
s.
Life
Neffson was born in New York CityNew 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...
and grew up in Little Neck, New York. He was raised by a single father, after his mother, an amateur artist, died when he was seven. He began attending classes at 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...
in 1961, under the instruction of artists such as Lennart Anderson and Sidney Dickinson. As a student he copied old master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s 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...
in New York and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. His study of, among others, the painters Jan Vermeer, Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, Camille Corot, and Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
, developed his skills further. While attending the Boston University College of Fine Arts
Boston University College of Fine Arts
The Boston University College of Fine Arts is unit of Boston University. The College consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each of the individual schools offer degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and graduate level...
, from which he graduated cum laude in 1971, Neffson’s work attracted the attention of his professors, including James Weeks and the abstract expressionist painter, Philip Guston
Philip Guston
Philip Guston was a notable painter and printmaker in the New York School, which included many of the Abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning...
.
He also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and the Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
, both on full scholarship. Achieving his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts for Painting in 1973, again from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Neffson taught briefly at the DeCordova Museum
DeCordova Museum
The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a sculpture park and art museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts focused on modern and contemporary art, and holds a collection focused on work in all media, especially works by artists with connections to New England...
in Lincoln, Massachusetts
Lincoln, Massachusetts
Lincoln is a town in the historic area of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits...
, and Fisher College
Fisher College
Fisher CollegeFisher College is a private institution that grants both baccalaureate and associate degrees. The College is located on Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges .-History:The College was...
in Boston. He received the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation and the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation Grants in support of his work.
In 1976, Neffson's life and work were significantly changed when he was awarded the Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
for Painting in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. During his stay in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, he met William Bailey at the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, who had a strong influence on his still life paintings at the time. Upon his return in 1977, Neffson was given a year long Artist-in-Residence Grant by the Roswell Museum and Art Center in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, followed by teaching positions at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
and Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. At that time he received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Visual Artist Grant in 1983. He has also taught at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York and has continued to teach Painting from Life for many years at 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...
.
Work
Neffson was a member of the First Street Gallery in New York from 1978 to 1985, during which time he had numerous solo exhibitions, as well as group shows with such fellow artists as Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy
Catherine Murphy may refer to:* Catherine Murphy , Irish independent politician and TD for Kildare North* Catherine Murphy , last woman to suffer execution by burning in England...
. While represented from 1985 to 1998 by Gallery Henoch in New York City, he was inspired by Richard Estes
Richard Estes
Richard Estes is an American artist, best known for his photorealist paintings. The paintings generally consist of reflective, clean, and inanimate city and geometric landscapes. He is regarded as one of the founders of the international photo-realist movement of the late 1960s, with such painters...
and Chuck Close
Chuck Close
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits...
and was among a group of second-generation Photorealist painters that were exhibiting in SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
galleries such as O. K. Harris Works of Art and Louis Meisel Gallery.
In 2004, Neffson was commissioned to create a painting of the near-completed new 7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center
7 World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. It is the second building to bear that name and address in that location. The original structure was completed in 1987 and was destroyed in the September 11 attacks...
building, which was presented to developer Larry Silverstein
Larry Silverstein
Larry A. Silverstein is an American businessman, and real estate investor and developer in New York City.Silverstein was born in Brooklyn, and became involved in real estate, together with his father, establishing Silverstein Properties...
of Silverstein Properties in a ceremony presided over by New York State Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
.
In 2007, Neffson authored the catalog to the British painter Clive Head’s exhibition at Marlborough Fine Arts, London. The text consists of an introduction and letters between the two artists centered on their discussion of the creative process.
Robert Neffson joined Hammer Galleries in 1998, the New York institution which recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. He has also exhibited at London’s Plus One Gallery since 2005. In 2009 he was invited to join the Bernarducci.Meisel Gallery in New York City. The director of the gallery, Louis K. Meisel, originated the phrase Photorealism
Photorealism
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information creating a painting that appears photographic...
in 1968, which was first used in a Whitney Museum catalog in 1970. Neffson also began exhibiting with the Albemarle Gallery in London during the same year. He continues to produce works that are exhibited and collected internationally.
Robert Neffson is currently based in 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 lives with his wife, Karin Choy and their dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, Bagel.
Neffson sees the geometry of the city foremost—the parallel lines of the architecture, the grids of the streets and windows, the angular shadows the sun casts between skyscrapers. One of Neffson’s fortes is sorting out messy networks of objects, shadows, and reflections in store windows, which he does by systematically breaking down each component into a series of perfect planes. ARTNews, November 2004.
External links
- http://RobertNeffson.com
- http://HammerGalleries.com
- http://PlusOneGallery.com
- http://TheArtStudentsLeague.org
- http://MetMuseum.org
- http://BernarducciMeisel.com
- http://Whitney.org
- http://AlbemarleGallery.com