Merlin C. Dailey Sold at Auction Prices

Merlin C. Dailey O/C expressionist painting, Interior with New Objects

Merlin C. Dailey (American, 1931-2015) oil on canvas expressionist painting titled "Interior with New Objects" with multicolored shapes and lines suggesting a table with objects on a table before a chair, a mirror on a wall with green striped wallpaper, the items on the table reflected in the mirror, and a door way in the background. Museum accession numbers and Mid-South Exhibition of Paintings 1964, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Overton Park, Memphis, Tennessee exhibition label with artist's name, title, and location en verso. Housed in a wooden frame with white paint to exterior. Sight - 59 1/4" H x 59 1/4" W. Framed - 60 3/4" H x 60 3/4" W. Artist biography (source: The Rochester Democrat And Chronicle): Merlin Dailey graduated from Kansas City Art Institute in 1958. He went on to receive an M.F.A. from the University of Indiana in 1960 with a degree in printmaking and Asian art history. He was associate professor of art at Memphis State University from 1960-68 where he taught drawing, printmaking and Asian art history. After becoming involved with the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff, Merlin and his wife Mary Ann moved their family to upstate New York to become members of the Rochester Folk Art Guild, a community of artisans and students of the Gurdjieff Work. He accepted a position of professor of fine art at Keuka College (1968-70) and then at Eisenhower College (1970-72). In 1970, Merlin and Mary Ann's longtime interest in Japanese art and philosophy culminated in the opening of the East West Gallery in Victor, NY which would run for 33 years and become the oldest Asian art gallery in the U.S. Provenance: Deaccessioned from the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Note: the first annual Mid-South Exhibition was held at the Brooks in 1956, a tradition that continued for the next 17 years and included purchase prizes to help bring regional art into the collection. Jurors included artists such as Wil Barnet and Jack Levine as well as museum directors from institutions such as Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and The Walker Art Center. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)