Legendary
February 10 – March 3, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday February 10, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Sponsored by Leighton Coleman
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(Setauket, January 16, 2012) Gallery North is pleased to present an exhibition titled “Legendary,” on view from February 10 – March 3, 2012. This exhibition will celebrate the work of Robert White.
Gallery North will be featuring drawings and some sculpture by Robert Winthrop White. Robert White was very much a local sculptor, a grandson of Bessie Smith of Smithtown, and of the architect Stanford White. He grew up exposed to the visual arts and decided already at the age of twelve to become a sculptor. He lived and worked most of his life in St. James, Long Island.
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When asked about his own work Robert quoted the great Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert’s poem Apollo and Marsyas: “Absolute ear versus immense range, the conflict between romantic and classical drives, which has been the theme of my life’s work.” A man of intellectual thoughtfulness, his work has an Italian sensuality and an American robustness. Of great technical ability, it is broad in its reflective concepts and always in praise of the human figure. Conscious of its psychological as well as its physical impact, White explores the romantic and the classical, the luxurious and the austere, faithful to an American tradition that he felt was worth pursuing.
His works have included local and international commissions: the eight foot St. Anthony in East Northport, the equestrian Can Grande and the portrait of the Melvilles, both at Hofstra University, the General Pershing monument in Washington D.C., three life-size wood-carvings in St. Michael’s Church in Bedford, Massachusetts. Others are in the collection of several museums, locally in the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook and the Heckscher Museum in Huntington. Many portraits, fountains, mythical figures in terra cotta, bronze and woodcarvings are privately owned. This exhibition emphasizes his proficiency in the art of drawing the human figure, which he taught as well as sculpture, at Stony Brook University for twenty five years.
Robert White was trained at the Rhode Island School of Design and spent the war years in the Coast Guard. In 1952 he was awarded the Rome prize and spent three years at the Academy in Rome. In 1963 he joined the faculty at Stony Brook University. In 1968 he was artist in residence again at the Academy in Rome. His many exhibitions in Manhattan were at the Davis gallery, then the Graham gallery.
Written by Claire Nicolas White
Gallery North is a valued community resource supported by volunteers and generous donors.
Gallery North is open Tuesday – Saturday 10 – 5 and Sunday 12 – 5.
For more information contact Gallery North, 631-751-2676 www.gallerynorth.org
