Untitled
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Michele Russo
(1909- )
Education:
Yale University (1934);
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (1937)
Biography:
Russo lived in Italy from the age of 5 until he was 10, during which time he
absorbed the Italian language and culture and his surrogate father's enthusiasm
for birds, gardens, art, and humanistic values. Russo and artist Sally Haley
wed in 1935. He created WPA murals in Hamden and New Haven, Connecticut. Russo
and Haley moved to Oregon in 1947. He taught art history, painting, and drawing
at Portland's Museum Art School from 1948-74. Russo considered his early
paintings to be allegorical and mysterious, dominated by dark blues, browns,
and black. His simple, powerful style and strong colors lend themselves to the
large scale of his canvases. In 1979 he was presented the Governor's Award for
the Arts. In 1997 he was the first artist appointed to the Metropolitan Arts
Commission in Portland.
Media:
Oil
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