“I wanted to paint in a way that the painter, the ‘I,’ disappeared into the work,

rather than having the work show my own skill or bravura or whatever.  I felt strongly,

 and still do, that it should be the work that speaks and not the painter.”  ~WB 2003 

On Saturday, October 22nd, Betty Cuningham Gallery will open an exhibition celebrating the life and art of William Bailey. The artist passed away on April 13, 2020, three months after the close of his retrospective, Looking Through Time, at the Yale University Art Gallery. A private memorial for the artist will be held on Friday, October 21st at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The current exhibition marks Bailey’s eighth show with the Gallery which will host an opening reception (15 Rivington Street, NYC) on Saturday, October 22nd from 4 – 6pm.

Bailey’s work divides into two lines of concentration: his still-lifes and figures; all are from his imagination rather than observation. The exhibition will include selected paintings, works on paper and prints. Among the works are two major figure paintings, Imaginary Studio II (Rome) and Afternoon in Umbria III.   Also on view are two rare pencil on paper still-life drawings as well as twelve small, intimate “musings”.  While the large still life drawings are finished works, the pencil on graph paper musings are studies, which provide a unique glimpse into the artist’s creative process.