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William James (Jack) McLarty

(1919- )

Education:

Museum Art School, Portland (1937-39);
American Artists School (1940)

Biography:

McLarty taught at the Museum Art School until his retirement and served as acting dean from 1958-59. McLarty and Louis Bunce moved to Newport during the vacation periods from 1948-1950 to establish an outdoor art school on the beach. McLarty described his work as "surrealistic," and he believed the artistic atmosphere in Portland helped him develop in his own independent fashion. His early themes, from 1950-52, included the city of Portland at night and the 1948 Vanport flood. In the mid-1950s his canvases displayed a less vibrant color palette, with less outlining and shading. Themes of sports and games appeared in the late 1950s, and a change to a lighter, brighter palette. McLarty continued to change style and technique as social and environmental problems engaged his interest and concern.

Media:

Oil, acrylic, prints (lithograph, serigraph, wood cut, wood engraving, etching)