September Issue 1999
Morris Gallery Features Works On Paper by William Halsey
Works on Paper, an exhibit of works by William Halsey
(1915-1999) will be on display at the Morris Gallery in Columbia,
SC, through Oct. 1.
William Halsey both lived and prospered in his native state of
South Carolina during a time when many artists chose to live in
the established art markets such as New York and Los Angeles.
He wanted to form a "wider interest in and understanding
of contemporary art in this country." (W. Halsey, 1952) By
the end of his career he was known nationally and had traveled
extensively bringing back influences of other artists, cultures
and countries. Influences that were shared through his teaching
and will continue to be shared through his art.
In 1930, at the age of fifteen, totally unaware of "modern painting" Halsey created a painting, The Live Oak and gave it to the director of the Charleston Museum, Miss Laura Bragg. His talent was so apparent that he was encouraged by many to explore his talents but it was his mother who took him to meet Elizabeth O'Neill Verner. Under her tutelage he began to draw from nature and learned etching and engraving techniques. He furthered his education at the University of South Carolina and then completed his degree and taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
His natural drive and curiosity kept him focused for weeks to years on a single composition. One of his exploration processes was to paint bits of paper or tear apart paintings, attach them to other surfaces and study them. He found himself considering hundreds of other possibilities before he ever made his decision as to how the final composition should look. This process derived from Halsey's profound belief that there was a perfect solution to every painting.
Gesso panels provided the structural support for his working process and allowed him to build up layers of paint that he could scrape through to reveal the multitude of colors that lay beneath the surface This "sgraffito" technique, scraping off layers, was used by thirteenth and fourteenth century painters, but for Halsey it was a natural evolution to find the solution to each painting. His unsatisfactory explorations could be scraped off and the surface would simply be printed over.
Throughout his explorations, his love of urban architecture such as Charleston row houses, continued to interest him. He continuously simplified these forms because he liked the flat abstract patterns more than the life of its inhabitants. When looking at his works during the 1950's the viewer is always brought back to the painted surface through beautifully integrated color constructions that are carefully controlled with tricks of illusion. He was quoted in 1959 as saying, "My concern was rather with the mood of a place not a pictorial map of a location."
Halsey felt that he was creating work that was controlled by basic shapes, and he felt the need to explore artwork using irregular shapes and ragged edges. This yearning led him into sculpture. Halsey felt that this diversion gave him a relief from the transitions in his paintings. By assembling bits and pieces of wood and found objects he could form linear constructions which were simplified by use of monochromatic colors.
Returning back to his painting he still wanted the use of irregular shapes and ragged edges. This exploration coupled with the need to remove himself from the fumes of solvents led more deeply into creating collages enhanced by the use of oil sticks. The oil sticks gave him the ability to create works that he could come back to and work again and again so that he could find that perfect solution.
Since Halsey's death, his son, David Halsey, has had both the honor and the task of cataloging Halsey's work. A task which has been extremely difficult because often when searching for works that were cataloged long ago, they seem to have disappeared only to be found in bits and pieces in later works of art.
For more information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 803/254-1640.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC
29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
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