Silent Conversations: The Paintings of Frances Galante

Silent Conversations THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE

WoodmereArtMuseum

In memoriam Frances Galante 1957–2015

Woodmere extends sincere thanks and appreciation to Phyllys B. Fleming, Elizabeth S. and John Lindsay, Janet Wilson Smith, Michael Neal Pavol, Virginia N. Naude, Helma N. Weeks, Sharrie R. Bobrow for their generous support of this catalogue and exhibition.

Silent Conversations

The Paintings of Frances Galante

CONTENTS

Foreword by Hildy Tow 2 A Conversation with Frances Galante 4 Works in the Exhibition 18

April 4 – June 7, 2015

WoodmereArtMuseum

FOREWORD Woodmere Art Museum is proud to present Silent

its behalf. The outpouring of generosity for this

Conversations: The Paintings of Frances Galante. We

exhibition attests to the enormous impact Frances

feel sadness at Frances’ recent passing and at the

had on many lives. The Museum extends sincere

same time we celebrate her many contributions to

thanks and appreciation to Phyllys B. Fleming,

the vitality of the arts in Philadelphia.

Elizabeth S. and John Lindsay, Janet Wilson Smith,

Frances was a wonderful teacher and mentor. Every Tuesday morning for many years, Woodmere’s studio would be filled with people, canvases,

Michael Neal Pavol, Virginia N. Naude, Helma N. Weeks, and Sharrie R. Bobrow for their support of this catalogue and exhibition.

palettes, and easels, all in place for “Creating a

A special thank you to Frances for showing us

Mood with Still Life,” one of the many classes she

the strength in humility and potential in quiet

led. Frances was a much-loved teacher whose

attentiveness. This exhibition and catalogue tell the

extraordinary knowledge and experience with

story of a beloved artist whose generosity of spirit

color, light, composition, materials, and technique

and legacy as a painter and teacher live on.

attracted many. Her classes overflowed with students eager for her insight and inspiration. The special attention she gave to individual artistic vision fostered her students’ confidence in their work.

In the conversation in this catalogue with her friend Paul DuSold, Frances says, “It can solve a lot of problems in life if you can just sit quietly in a room and pay attention.” This understanding of what it means to be present is reflected in her depiction of light and shadow, rich subtleties of color and tone, and thoughtful arrangement of objects and particulars of gestures. Her paintings connect us to a gentle stillness and appreciation for the moment, often missed in the hectic bustle of our day-to-day lives. The sensitivity and perception that Frances communicated through her art resonated in her personality. Her warmth, honesty, and patience were felt in all her interactions.

Woodmere is extremely grateful to Paul DuSold for his dedication to this exhibition and efforts on

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HILDY TOW

The Robert McNeil, Jr., Curator of Education

Fishing on the Beach, 2000, by Frances Galante (Collection of John J. Colussi) SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 3

A CONVERSATION WITH FRANCES GALANTE

On December 15, 2014, artists Paul DuSold and Frances Galante sat down to talk about Galante’s work and her upcoming exhibition at Woodmere PAUL DUSOLD: Let’s start from the beginning,

study art, or take a Saturday class, by a teacher

Frances. Tell us where you’re from.

when I was ten.

FRANCES GALANTE: I’m from Philadelphia, from

DUSOLD: You must have had some talent.

the section of Mount Airy that’s closer to Oak Lane. It’s a little rowhouse neighborhood. I went to grade school there. I was first encouraged to

GALANTE: Yes, I showed some talent. Before taking classes I would do things like make greeting cards. I also liked to do detailed drawings. My family was pretty cultured. I’m the youngest of three children. We were encouraged to be well rounded and to read music. My mother was a pianist. There was always classical music on in the house. We had lots of art and other reference books. But the first real exhibition that I remember seeing was in the mid-1970s, when I was in my late teens. It was an exhibition of work by Cecilia Beaux at the Civic Center. It was beautiful. I was blown away.

DUSOLD: At that time were you painting in addition to drawing?

GALANTE: Correct. I had a high school teacher who was a nun. She was very demanding.

She required us to study Janson’s History of Art and we had to do a drawing every night in a sketchbook. She introduced us mostly to painting, starting with watercolor and acrylic.

DUSOLD: Was your family encouraging of your

Above: Bureau with Hydrangeas, 2002, by Frances Galante (Collection of Thomas DeBerardinis, M.D.) Right: Flower Glass Watercolor 2, 1974, by John Moore (Woodmere Art Museum: Gift of Frank Galuszka, 2013)

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art?

GALANTE: They liked it but they worried about my future in terms of income. They both liked the

fact that I had talent, but they thought, especially

that I would never develop if I only painted on

my father, that it should be more of a hobby. He

Sunday.

felt I should become a teacher or some other sort of professional. As I mentioned, my family is very artistic and there was a lot of exposure to art,

DUSOLD: When did you decide to go to art school?

music, literature, and philosophy, and a strong

GALANTE: When I was in high school I knew I

interest in beautiful craftsmanship. All four of

wanted to attend art school. I had to be able

my grandparents were excellent tailors; one of

to afford it because I had to pay for it. So there

my great uncles was a high school art teacher;

weren’t too many choices other than Tyler

my mother had artistic talent, as does her sister;

(at Temple University) and the Pennsylvania

both my sisters are into art and are very creative.

Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). I chose Tyler

My father even tried painting for a couple of

because it had the degree and I enrolled right

weeks, but didn’t like it. My mother most of all

after graduating high school. Tyler introduced

was an excellent pianist and gave piano lessons.

me to such a broad range of styles. The first

My sisters and I were taken to classical music

year I just studied the foundations. There were

concerts, the ballet, and art exhibitions at the

some representational teachers there like John

major museums. My father was a lawyer. He

Moore, Chuck Schmidt, and Roger Anliker. I was

wanted his daughters to work, make money, and

interested in representational painting even

retire. He wanted me to pursue art on Sundays.

though abstraction was a little more trendy at the

But I was adamantly against that because I knew

time.

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 5

DUSOLD: Was there antagonism to

DUSOLD: You stopped short of getting a degree

representational painting at Tyler?

at Tyler?

GALANTE: Well, there was a group of students

GALANTE: Yes. Eventually I felt like I would be

who defended their modern take on things, which

sorry if I didn’t have a degree when I was so

sometimes made me feel old fashioned and

close. In 1980 I found out about a program at Ox-

provincial.

Bow in Saugatuck, Michigan. I went out there to

DUSOLD: Did you get support from Anliker and Moore and so forth?

study. I got a dishwashing job for the summer and I was able to get enough credits to finish my BFA. It was at Ox-Bow that I met Leonard Anderson

GALANTE: Yes. John Moore was the most

and learned about his strict approach and his love

supportive. I was working while going to

of classical and Renaissance art. He showed me

school so I’d do classwork and then run to my

how to really look and observe. I loved it. I was

waitressing job. I really didn’t get a chance to

about 23 when I finished and then I moved back

have the full college experience. I had to do

to Philly. I never went back to experimenting with

certain foundation requirements that I really

other styles. I devoted myself to representational

didn’t want to do, like abstract sculpture, graphic

painting.

design, and using the equipment in the wood shop. The curriculum was very broad. I was starting to feel like it wasn’t helping me. I felt

DUSOLD: Do you remember what art historical work you found inspiring or influential?

I wasn’t getting the concentrated drawing and

GALANTE: I’ve always liked still lifes, particularly

painting that I wanted.

Spanish still lifes from the 1600s. And I’ve always

DUSOLD: Were you doubting representational painting at this point?

GALANTE: Yes, I was. In my third year at Tyler, I started making large, abstract paintings inspired by abstract expressionism, but I felt that it was

liked interior scenes.

DUSOLD: There’s something about still life that’s very contemplative. You can work by yourself as a painter and there’s something attractive about that.

actually very difficult to make interesting abstract

GALANTE: Yes, and being with people doing

painting. I had nothing to base it on. What do I

portraiture is nerve-racking. Being outside had

begin with? Where should I start? I didn’t know

its practical problems. I like landscape, but it’s

why I was doing it. Then I moved into more

arduous and potentially dangerous for a young

conceptual things. The conceptual and abstract

woman. Although when I did it, it gave me a

work I was doing met with greater approval from

sense of freedom.

both students and faculty. I was doing things like putting notes on trees. Happening also started to occur in New York. I decided not to go back to Tyler for my last semester and I moved to New York.

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DUSOLD: You moved back to Philadelphia after completing your degree. What was it like in Philadelphia at that time?

GALANTE: I didn’t paint very often. I was working.

made it easier to do what I wanted to do. Lou Sloan

I really didn’t get back into any kind of drawing or

was also influential. I did a lot of strict drawing and

painting until 1984. I was in a crisis. I questioned

painting every night for a couple of years. I felt that

myself, asking, what am I? Am I an artist or a legal

I knew where I belonged. Everything was perfect.

secretary? It was a period of crisis in terms of my

Eventually, I enrolled in daytime classes and would

identity. I moved back home with my parents. I took

go to my job afterward. Unfortunately, again, I didn’t

some classes in pastel at the Abington Art Center.

have the typical school experience. It was hard to

Then, in 1984, I started going to PAFA at night.

bond with fellow students because I worked so

There I got much more instruction in drawing and

much. But I was determined not to go into debt.

painting in the traditional sense of representational

I got my certificate in 1990. Later I saved some

art originating in ancient Greece, which was what I

money and went to Europe and saw what I wanted

was looking for.

to see. I gave myself a little reward. I wanted to see

DUSOLD: Were you working full time during the day

all the architecture and art.

DUSOLD: How was your experience at PAFA

while you were going to school at night?

different from your Tyler experience?

GALANTE: Yes. I met Arthur De Costa, who was very influential for me. He helped me learn how to

GALANTE: At PAFA you weren’t split in so many

mix color and understand how to paint a figure. He

different directions about art. It was all unified,

gave me more information than I’d ever gotten at

which I think is the only way to learn—focusing

any school. With Arthur I got more specifics and it

on one thing. I could learn only representational drawing or painting and forget what everybody else was doing. After completing my studies, I eventually got a restoration job with Raymond Spiller.

DUSOLD: What kind of work did you do there?

GALANTE: Mostly cleaning things that came from people’s homes and restoring little tears and doing some in-painting. I learned on the job, but I felt like I had enough technical training at PAFA to mix color.

DUSOLD: When did still life begin to be a focus for you?

GALANTE: In 1992, I was invited to be represented

by Artists’ House Gallery. They asked me for still lifes. I liked still lifes and they began to be a focus because the galleries wanted them. In the early ’90s,

Celadon Squash and Rose, 1979, by Arthur De Costa (Woodmere Art Museum: Gift of the estate of Arthur De Costa, 2007)

I got a studio at 12th and Vine Streets. It was the first time I had a real artist’s studio just for painting.

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 7

Interior with Chair, 2001, by Frances Galante (Collection of Harold A. Sarvetnick)

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DUSOLD: That must have been a very different

where I was working at the time, I knew there

experience for you. Your working life up until then

were other people working because the building

was always split between working and painting.

was full of other studios. But I had to be isolated.

Now you had what every artist dreams of: a space

There was a lot of tedium. There were a lot of

dedicated to making artwork.

tedious hours. I changed my mind a lot, too. I’d decide that I wanted a particular object, or didn’t

GALANTE: Yes, it was wonderful. I loved the north

want another one. I’d change the background.

light in that studio. I would arrange the still life in

The painting could take a lot longer than just the

the window. I had a bureau with a highly reflective surface on it and I loved to see the reflection of the objects and being able to capture the atmosphere

final version, which takes long enough. All the paintings underneath the final version changed many times. Then I’d get all these anxieties: Do

and light and the flowers. I choose a lot of objects

I really have to do that? Am I making a mistake?

that represent luxury and food. I love food and

I’d talk to myself a lot about doubt. It was a real

delicacies. Then I really started looking at the Spanish still life paintings of the 1600s. I studied the light, the shadow, and the drama there. I also love

roller coaster. If it went well I would say, oh, I can’t wait to exhibit it! If somebody came into my studio and ignored a painting I felt like, oh no,

Vermeer and the beautiful subtleties of his lighting

that’s a bad one, I’ll just have to shelve that one.

effects.

DUSOLD: I think as an artist you are always

DUSOLD: So light became part of your subject

wrestling with confidence. Confidence can be

matter?

evident in the final painting and, of course,

GALANTE: Oh yes. That’s what attracted me to

whenever you paint your entire self-esteem is at

what I would paint and how I would do it. I would

risk while you’re working!

go to Reading Terminal Market and buy flowers

GALANTE: That confidence took a long time for

and fruit and bread and cake. I had a collection

me to develop. After I was invited to join the

of porcelain things and I would set them all up. It

gallery, some of my work sold and that’s what

would take a long time. I was only painting from

allowed me to have more confidence. Then my

life at the time. The flowers would die while I was

husband, Thuan, and I bought the house where

painting them, so I started doing one or two in

I live and work now and of course the light

detail and would try to finish them, then I’d replace

changed. I never had north light again. Here the

the others. I was approaching flowers like I was

light comes from the west and you have to work

painting portraits. I was focusing on every petal.

in the morning or in the summer I can work in the

DUSOLD: You were painting individual specimens.

evenings. The evening light is gentle. The light at

For an artist like you, painting still life by yourself,

the end of the day is very appealing because it

there’s the joy of contemplation, but there’s also

seems emotionally significant more than visually

isolation.

significant. It’s more like my own personality: not bright sunshine but quieter and more observant.

GALANTE: That’s right. In the studio building

I do a lot of my painting when people are settling

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 9

down to have dinner. Socially it was hard, but

GALANTE: In 2012, I decided to try to paint

with the western light it would come in in these

more loosely. I’ve always been torn between

patches all day long and I couldn’t use it.

being a tight renderer and using more expressive

DUSOLD: Would you say that you began painting interiors more here? That’s where that part of your oeuvre developed?

GALANTE: Yes.

brushwork. I decided the best way to be expressive was to do it fast. I had always done things that were looser and quicker on the side.

I was afraid maybe that this looked inconsistent to people and that people weren’t sure exactly who I was. People seem to want to know you

DUSOLD: Was it the space you were inspired by

before they collect you. That doesn’t really suit

as well as the light? Your studio here is very large.

me because I want to do what I want to do, when

GALANTE: It was a big challenge. There’s a skylight over here, western light over there. Then I started to see these backlight situations and reflections.

DUSOLD: Let’s talk about Orchids (2012). Tell me about that painting, or your memory of painting it.

I want to do it. To me it doesn’t matter if it’s tight or loose. It’s not like I’m planning that out.

I just began to think that I liked the looser, more expressive brushwork that I was seeing around in galleries. I never liked perfectly crisp paintings or photo-realism.

DUSOLD: One of the things I see that’s different

Left: Orchids, 2012, by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist) Right: Hanging Pheasant, 2012,

by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist)

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in Orchids compared to your other work is the feeling that you’re painting a fragment of the setup as opposed to having the stalks go all the way down and show the base and the pot and the tabletop. This is just the flowers.

GALANTE: Including all of that other stuff would mean I’d have to include a lot of background. I wasn’t painting a still life.

DUSOLD: When you’re painting something like that, do you find that other paintings come to mind as you’re working, paintings that you’re influenced by?

GALANTE: Yes, I began looking at Édouard Manet’s flowers. Manet was an influence for me years ago too. Then my eye would start to paint tighter compositions and I would be influenced by other artists.

DUSOLD: The bottom line is, if you’re inspired, that’s all there is to it. Let’s talk about Hanging Pheasant (2012).

GALANTE: It took me a long time to pose the pheasant and figure out how I wanted to paint it.

I started with some parameters. I had the frame and I had the board prepared and I decided to do a vertically oriented painting that would fit into it.

The pheasant was a gift from you, Paul, so I didn’t plan any of this. I had to put it on tables, and I used different lighting. Then I started pulling the wings out. I had to make them stiff, and I thought, oh, that’s what I want. I wanted to make it look like it could fly. I had always loved American artists’ paintings of pheasants. It was wintertime, it was very cold, and I didn’t turn the heat on.

I just painted it like that to get the iridescence of the body, the torso, the plumage, and the

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 11

whole thing laid out for placement and that takes a long time. Then I figure out where the shadow’s going to be, then I start painting.

DUSOLD: When you’re setting up your arrangements, I know there are formal qualities to consider, but also, do you find as you’re setting up that you’re responding to how different compositions affect you emotionally? Do you know the moment when that emotional response tells you, this is the composition I should paint?

GALANTE: Yes, that’s what I’m hoping for.

Sometimes it doesn’t happen that easily.

Ultimately in this case I decided that being under Two Apricots on a Plate, 1993, by Frances Galante (Collection of Lorraine and Marv Riesenbach)

the skylight showed off the iridescence of the feathers best, and that was the primary thing for me. That emotional quality usually happens almost accidentally. I’ll do all kinds of different

structure of the wings. It seems to me like a very hopeful painting. Yes, it’s hanging there dead, but it’s going to feed people. I appreciate the lifegiving ability of the bird and the gorgeousness of

things and then go take a break. When I finally get back in the studio, I can see things totally differently. A third option is there now, that I didn’t notice.

it. Birds and their feathers are amazing. I almost

DUSOLD: On average, how long does it take you

never started painting it. I just kept looking at it

to set up a still life?

and petting it [laughs].

DUSOLD: You were taking joy in its beauty!

GALANTE: Yes. It was so hard to paint. There was so much structure, it was like painting lace. And those wings took forever.

DUSOLD: Do you use underpaintings?

GALANTE: Most of a day. Then a day for the kind of underpainting that I do. Then maybe I’ll move that around. I also started teaching and my life got chopped up, so I had to start using photos.

I painted only from life for at least twenty years, and it was a great pleasure. As my time got more chopped up with other life demands, I found it necessary to complete my work from photos. By

GALANTE: I don’t use underpaintings. I just do a wash. Instead of drawing, I use paint, as a drawing. I usually start with light and then take a light mixture of a neutral gray to do a drawing instead of using a charcoal pencil. I need the

then I had enough experience painting from life, examining real form and color relationships, to be able to produce good work from photos. The paintings, however, can take anywhere from five hours to two hundred hours, depending on how developed they are.

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DUSOLD: Let’s also talk about Model in the

DUSOLD: Paying attention to what’s there.

Studio (2004).

GALANTE: Yes. As a painter, paying attention and

GALANTE: For this one I was at the total other

having focus is hard to do rather than looking for

end of the studio. I knew that I wanted to

action and conflict.

have the implication of a big room so I put the

DUSOLD: Your careful sense of attention is what

furniture in the corners. Here there’s a quiet light. I’m using two lights and some backlighting and she’s under the skylight. My still life is in the background. It’s kind of a self-portrait of my life. I like the idea of sitting quietly in a room and how that can seem so difficult. Yet it can solve a lot of problems in life if you can just sit quietly in a room and pay attention. [laughs]

is so satisfying about observing your paintings.

The viewer’s eye goes from moment to moment within the painting and each moment offers something to contemplate. The most dramatic element in this painting would be the figure, although she is very quietly present in the painting. There are other moments, like the light on her shoulders or the gloss of the light on her

Model in the Studio, 2004, by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist) SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 13

Florist Street, 1995, by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist)

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shin. Then the eye can move down and see those

gorgeous. Talk to me about the contrast between

beautiful, gentle shadows pass by the stools and

the dumpster and the rest.

their transition from light into shadow. Then your eye travels back to the still life. I love the chair

GALANTE: It partially blocks the view. It’s dark and it’s right in the middle. I like the real-life

behind the desk and the objects on it. The soft

aspect of it. It looks kind of elegant. It looks like

focus on the chair is just beautiful. It seems as

it’s going to roll off on its own and have some

though you’ve underdescribed the structure of the window to get that light coming in in a more pronounced way.

character. It has a reflective surface, so in the side view there is a warm light.

DUSOLD: One of the main elements of the

GALANTE: Yes, that is purposeful. I like that

painting is a dumpster, yet because of the lighting

dissolving look. It about the light, it’s not about

effect, to me the painting is unquestionably

the window structure.

joyful.

DUSOLD: Can we talk about Florist Street (1995)?

GALANTE: Sure, there’s nothing bad about trash

GALANTE: Of course. The street is near here.

or back streets. This might not be the painting

It was just something I saw spontaneously and

that many people are going to buy. I exhibit it

thought, that’s interesting.

and I keep it, because I love it. I barely see what people are painting sometimes. The “what” of it is

DUSOLD: I should say right away that you live

so secondary.

within blocks of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

GALANTE: Yes, and it’s the gritty city, but to me it looks very pretty because of the pastel colors.

DUSOLD: You mean the “what” of the subject matter?

And it didn’t even occur to me that I was painting

GALANTE: Yes. I look at the light, the color,

a dumpster until I saw it finished. I didn’t even

the relationship of the objects, how they’re

notice what it was.

staying together, the expression. I have to have

DUSOLD: Again, you were responding to the light.

GALANTE: Yes. And it has backlighting and that hazy, Philadelphia-type light that’s influencing the way the bridge appears. We had just purchased

a spontaneous reaction to a beautiful light situation. I don’t paint on the street anymore, but it was fun when I did.

DUSOLD: I love your Regina (2009) portrait.

this house too, so I was very excited. It was my

GALANTE: This was more planned. I wanted to

new world.

challenge myself with something larger using a limited palette. A fair amount of it is made up. I

DUSOLD: I love the color temperature balance between the warms of the stone and the cools of the ironwork on the bridge. It’s very subtle, but they balance each other out, both in proportion and color. The spatial effect of the bridge is

don’t have a window like that and I think that may not be that successful. I had the model and I had to work also from photos. I kept the palette very limited.

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 15

DUSOLD: Tell me about setting it up, your choice of the model, what you had in mind.

GALANTE: I wanted somebody near the window, a young woman. I wanted a scene of relaxation so she’s holding a cup of coffee with a contemplative, musing kind of pose. I was thinking more about color balance: the red thing behind her, the green stool, and then the white, reflective enamel table. The structure took me a while. I wanted to pose the chair so that it was a cheerier situation. It was more of an exercise for me to test myself to see if I could still do a figure, you know, after all the still lifes.

DUSOLD: It’s beautiful. The composition has a soft contrast.

GALANTE: The kind of dramatic lighting that

Regina, 2009, by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist)

Rembrandt used, for example, is not my strong suit.

DUSOLD: That type of lighting wouldn’t have that same quietude.

GALANTE: I’m not a high-energy person, so I think it goes with my nature. All my paintings are about resting. [laughs] I’m an observer. It’s what I like to do. I’d rather be sitting in a chair having a cup of coffee than actually painting. [laughs] It’s work.

DUSOLD: But painting, of course, gives the opportunity to express the joy of that.

what keeps me motivated to finish a painting and get it out there. Ultimately that’s the goal.

DUSOLD: In the end, certainly, we become painters from a need. Making artwork at least temporarily and sporadically fills that hole in us, but there’s something incomplete about us without that artistic expression.

GALANTE: I’ve always considered those questions. Why do I need to do this? When do I spend long periods—months or years—without doing it? I did a lot of reading on that topic.

GALANTE: Yes, painting is a way of

Painting just seems like another inexplicable

communicating with the world and I’m not just

human characteristic. Who knows where it comes

doing this for myself. Self-expression isn’t just

from? Some people need to write music, write

for the self, because I know other people will

literature; some people need to draw and paint. I

respond and have the same feelings. I want to

wouldn’t do it if there weren’t a chance to show

communicate with them through my work. That is

it. I would stop. That would make me feel self-

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conscious if I were alone at home. I would feel

Opportunities to show and sell and be talked

like, oh, I can’t just sit around painting and

about. I feel like I’ve experienced those rewards

drawing. It’s just like sitting and reading. There

on a small scale, and it’s very satisfying. It can be

is no connection to society, to the world. I

too much if you do too much or if you can’t do

never wanted this to be for me and to put it on

it enough—if your teaching conflicts with your

the shelf or on the wall. I wouldn’t improve. It

work, for example. To tell you the truth, teaching

wouldn’t be good if I weren’t out there having

can confuse me, because there are so many ways

it shown next to other people’s work. I want to

to create artwork, and the students have their

be part of a history. I didn’t invent painting. I’m

own ways already. There are so many modes

part of a long line. The truth of the matter is, it’s

of expression. I just adapt to the students and

not pleasurable for me to paint. That’s the funny

appreciate what they’re doing. It doesn’t inform

thing. It’s a need, and I’m glad when it’s done. If I

my own work, but it was much more enjoyable

want pleasure, I’d rather garden, or cook, or read.

than any other job I ever had, for sure. Much more

Painting is work and I want a reward for that

satisfying. I’ve been teaching for thirteen years.

work.

DUSOLD: Your students love you. As your

DUSOLD: What kind of reward are you talking

colleague, I know you’ve been an encouraging

about?

teacher for many students. Thank you, Frances,

GALANTE: Understanding from others.

this has been very enjoyable.

Galante in the studio at Woodmere teaching students how to paint from the model, 2014. Photograph courtesy of Woodmere Art Museum.

SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 17

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION

Unless noted, all works listed below are by Frances Galante (1957–2015) and are courtesy of the estate of the artist.

Florist Street, 1995 Oil on stretched linen, 14 x 12 inches Rooftops in Brooklyn, 2002 Oil on matboard, 16 x 12 inches Yellow Tablecloth, 2002 Oil on linen attached to Masonite panel, 20 x 26 inches Lakshmi, c. 2003 Oil on muslin attached to board, 19 ž x 16 in.

Woodmere Art Museum: Gift of the artist and Thuan Bui, 2009

Model in the Studio, 2004 Oil on stretched linen, 18 x 24 inches Regina, 2009 Oil on stretched linen, 36 x 32 inches J.W., 2011 Oil on Masonite panel, 16 x 12 inches Hanging Pheasant, 2012 Oil on muslin attached to Masonite panel, 32 x 20 inches Orchids, 2012 Oil on Masonite panel, 14 x 18 inches

Lakshmi, c. 2003, by Frances Galante (Woodmere Art Museum: Gift of the artist and Thuan Bui, 2009)

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WOODMERE ART MUSEUM

Woodmere Art Museum receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Support provided in part by The Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

Š 2015 Woodmere Art Museum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.

Photography by Rick Echelmeyer unless otherwise noted.

Catalogue designed by Barb Barnett and Emma E. Hitchcock, and edited by Gretchen Dykstra.

Front cover: Yellow Tablecloth, 2002, by Frances Galante (Courtesy of the estate of the artist) SILENT CONVERSATIONS: THE PAINTINGS OF FRANCES GALANTE 3

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