August Gay
French-American Painter & Etcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August Gay whose birth name was Auguste-François Pierre Gay (June 11, 1890 – 1948) was a French-born American painter and etcher. He was a member of the Society of Six in Oakland, California, and an Impressionist landscape painter.
August Gay | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1890 Rabou, France |
| Died | 1948 (aged 57–58) Monterey, California, U.S. |
| Occupations | Painter, etcher |
| Spouse | Marcelle Chaix |
Life
Gay was born on June 11, 1890, in Rabou, France.[1] He emigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager, settling in Alameda, California.[1] He suffered from tuberculosis as a young man, and he attended the California School of Fine Arts.[1]
Gay co-founded the Society of Six with Selden Connor Gile, Maurice Logan, Louis Siegriest, Bernard von Eichman, and William H. Clapp, in Oakland, California.[2] He was an Impressionist, and he painted California landscapes en plein air.[3] For art historian Nancy Boas, Gay had "an instinctive understanding of picture making, an original sense of color, and a desire to deal with important pictorial issues."[1] Gay later moved to Monterey, where he shared a studio with Clayton Sumner Price and he managed a furniture repair store.[4]
Gay married Marcelle Chaix, who was also French, in 1934.[4] He died in 1948.[2] His artwork can be seen at the Oakland Museum of California.[5]
Further reading
- Kelso, David (1997). Small Wonders: The Etchings of August François Gay. Monterey, California: Monterey Museum of Art. ISBN 9781891586002. OCLC 39727565.