Harold Paris
American artist
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Harold Persico Paris (1925–1979) was an American printmaker, sculptor and educator. He taught art classes at the University of California, Berkeley from 1963 until 1979.
Atelier 17
Harold Paris | |
|---|---|
Harold Paris, 1977 by Mimi Jacobs | |
| Born | August 16, 1925 Edgemere, Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 1, 1979 (aged 53) El Cerrito, California, U.S. |
| Education | Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Atelier 17 |
| Known for | Printmaking, sculpture |
| Movement | Abstract Expressionism |
| Spouse | Deborah Little Paris[1] |
Early life and education
Paris was born on August 16, 1925, in Edgemere, Long Island, New York.[2] In World War II he served as a correspondent for the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes and during that time he witnessed the death camps at Buchenwald concentration camp which had a profound effect on him and his art.[3] Paris studied printmaking at Atelier 17 in New York City and sculptural casting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (German: Akademie der Bildenden Künste) in Munich.[4] In 1953 and 1954 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship.[5] He was also the recipient of a Fulbright Grant and a Tiffany Foundation grant.[4]
Career and late life
In the early 1960s Paris settled in California.[3] In 1963 he became a professor at University of California, Berkeley. He taught printmaking and sculpture[6] and co-founded the bronze foundry there.[3] One of Paris' students was Shirin Neshat.[7] Paris was also an involved with the Peter Voulkos' pot palace ceramic studio.[8]
Paris exhibited extensively while in California. In 1972 a major exhibition of his work The California Years was held at the University Art Museum in Berkeley.[6]
Paris died in El Cerrito, California, on July 1, 1979.[3]
Collections
Paris' work is included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago,[9] the Museum of Modern Art,[10] the National Gallery of Art,[11] the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,[12] and the Whitney Museum of American Art.[13] His papers are in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.[1]