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
BornJune 11, 1890
Rabou, France
Died1948
Occupation(s)Painter, etcher
SpouseMarcelle Chaix

Life edit

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 edit

  • Kelso, David (1997). Small Wonders: The Etchings of August François Gay. Monterey, California: Monterey Museum of Art. ISBN 9781891586002. OCLC 39727565.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Boas, Nancy (1998). The Society of Six: California Colorists. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 31–33. ISBN 9780520210554. OCLC 35762633.
  2. ^ a b "Funeral Rites for Native of France". Oakland Tribune. March 11, 1948. p. 7. Retrieved April 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Marinovich (April 12, 1985). "'Open air'. Landscape paintings featured". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Fowler, Adaline (June 13, 1934). "Recollections". Salinas Morning Post. p. 2. Retrieved April 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "August Gay". Oakland Museum of California. Retrieved April 24, 2019.