Maureen Gallace (American, b.1960) is an artist best known for her landscapes and images detailing New England. The artist’s upbringing in Stamford, CT, gave her inspiration for her work. After entering the University of Hartford, she decided to attend The Hartford Art School, graduating in 1981 with a BFA. Two years later, she received her MFA from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, TX, named her its artist in residence in 2005, and, in the same year, the Douglas Hyde Museum released a catalog that detailed her work. Gallace went on to work as a professor of art at New York University. Several other colleges hired her as a guest or visiting professor, including Cooper Union, Harvard University, and UCLA.
Many critics liken Gallace’s work to artists such as Fairfield Porter (June 10, 1907–September 18, 1975) and Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882–May 15, 1967) because her work focuses on small town life and the people and things found in rural communities. Her pieces often highlight the landscapes and buildings found in rural areas of New England, though she sometimes paints portraits of her family members. One of her more famous pieces is Down the Road from My Brother's House, which shows a small home covered in snow, from down the road. Her piece Summer Storm shows the darkening skies above a New England beach that symbolize a coming storm. While her pieces are simplistic in nature, the colors and subject matter draw in the viewer.
The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY, have Gallace’s work on permanent display or in archival collections. Her work also appeared in exhibits at the Kerlin Galley in Dublin, Ireland, the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX, the Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, and Gallery Side 2 in Tokyo, Japan. She currently lives in New York, where she continues to work on her art and teaches art classes at New York University.
