Label Text
William Bailey's art, while unambiguously representational, is at the same time highly abstract. His paintings, drawings, and prints of still life arrangements and of female figures distill objects, interiors, and nudes to nearly metaphysical purity. Bailey drew inspiration from artistic forbearers ranging from the 15th century Piero dlla Francesca painter to the 20th century painters Morandi and Balthus. Bailey's graphite figure drawings frequently focus on a torso or head. The delicate gray contours gather into shadows and rise to a climax -- a deeper gray -- around the head and eyes. The artist represents these nude models objectively. They are not necessarily objects of desire, but figures that have a role in the life of his studio and in his art. Bailey taught painting at Yale University, where John Currin studied with him.
Source: DMAC, Body Language, Feb 7 - Apr 27, 2003
Bailey was born in Council Bluffs in 1930 and attended the University of Kansas before transferring to Yale University where he earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees. During most of the 1960's he taught at Indiana University. then moved on to teach at Yale. Source: Bulletin, November-December, 1984
Exhibition History"From Body to Being: Reflections on the Human Image," Des Moines Art Center, Feb. 1 - May 4, 1997
"The Homecoming Exhibition," organized by the Iowa Arts Council (circulated to: Gallery of Art, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Oct. 20 - Dec. 10, 1986; Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Ia., Feb. 14 - Mar. 22, 1987; Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Ia., Apr. 12 - May 10, 1987; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Ia., Aug. 14 - Sept. 13, 1987; The Blanden Memorial Art Meseum, Fort Dodge, Ia., Sept. 27 - Nov. 1, 1987; Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, Ia., Nov. 8 - Jan. 3, 1988)
Published ReferencesDES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, a catalog of selections from the permanent collection published in 1985, cat. ref. p.28 (not reproduced)
Bailey was born in Council Bluffs in 1930 and attended the University of Kansas before transferring to Yale University where he earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees. During most of the 1960's he taught at Indiana University. then moved on to teach at Yale. Source: Bulletin, November-December, 1984
Exhibition History"From Body to Being: Reflections on the Human Image," Des Moines Art Center, Feb. 1 - May 4, 1997
"The Homecoming Exhibition," organized by the Iowa Arts Council (circulated to: Gallery of Art, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Oct. 20 - Dec. 10, 1986; Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Ia., Feb. 14 - Mar. 22, 1987; Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Ia., Apr. 12 - May 10, 1987; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Ia., Aug. 14 - Sept. 13, 1987; The Blanden Memorial Art Meseum, Fort Dodge, Ia., Sept. 27 - Nov. 1, 1987; Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, Ia., Nov. 8 - Jan. 3, 1988)
Published ReferencesDES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, a catalog of selections from the permanent collection published in 1985, cat. ref. p.28 (not reproduced)
DimensionsFrame: 22 7/8 × 18 1/8 × 2 1/4 in. (58.1 × 46 × 5.7 cm)
Image (visual): 14 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (37.5 × 27.3 cm)
Image (visual): 14 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (37.5 × 27.3 cm)
Accession Number 1983.56
Classificationswork on paper
SignedBailey 1983 (l/r, pencil)
ProvenanceArtist. (Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, Ltd., New York); Dwight Kirsch, Des Moines [purchased from the previous]; Des Moines Art Center [bequest of the previous, 1983]
Collections
