Donald Roy Purdy, Coney Island Carousel Carver 'Woodworker' , Large Oil Painting

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Description

Genre: Modern
Subject: Wood carver, Circus Fair
Medium: Oil
Surface: Board
Country: United States
signed lower left

Donald Roy Purdy … Read more Genre: Modern
Subject: Wood carver, Circus Fair
Medium: Oil
Surface: Board
Country: United States
signed lower left

Donald Roy Purdy is an American painter whose work evolved through a range of styles and subjects over the course of his long career.
Born in 1924, the self-taught artist seldom used models. Rather, Purdy worked largely from the memory and impressions certain subjects and objects left upon his mind. The artist only occasionally paints on canvas, preferring masonite which he considers to be a stronger and longer-lasting material. Though he admits to using gesso, Purdy is known for his special preparations of painting surfaces through a method he keeps secret.

Purdy first began painting in an abstract style. He later combined the abstract techniques with representational subject matter, and would continue experimenting with new styles. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Purdy became influenced by the palette of the Barbizon painters and developed a unique approach, melding abstraction with the rigid Realist techniques to produce his signature Impressionist style.

Before pursuing a career as an artist, Purdy earned a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. in Psychology from Boston University.

Two Purdy paintings were included in the US State Department's "Art in America" show which recently toured Europe and several "First Awards" have been given to Purdy in competition with major artists. Among these is the Gold Metal of Honor from the National Academy in New York City.

Purdy's pieces are exhibited by the noted Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Gallery, which shows his work alongside the works of Vlaminch, Derain, Pissaro, Monet, Chagall and Picasso. His one man exhibitions have been seen in New York at the Ruth Butler Galleries, and in Masachusetts and Connecticut. He has shown at the Bernhein-Jeune Gallery in Paris, as well.

Purdy's art is held in the private collections of the Cincinnati Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Bridgeport Museum of Art, the Butler Institute, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. See less