© 2013 Jeff Cable Photograhpy
Patricia Melvin, plein air painter of New York City
Growing up on the banks of the picturesque Hudson River in a small town outside New York City, I first began drawing and painting. Much of my inspiration for landscapes was a result of this early childhood experience. My love of painting was also fostered by the paintings hanging in my house including works of the Hudson River School and Belgian paintings by my ancestors, Ferdinand and Henri deBraekeleer.
As a plein air painter of New York City, I have been painting landscapes for forty years. While I am primarily self-taught, I studied with Gabriel Laderman and Robert Beverly Hale at the Art Students’ League, and with Martin Pajeck, who was a student of Max Beckman. I also studied independently in Paris and Amsterdam, where I did my first plein air paintings. I have painted and exhibited in the United States and Europe, and now live in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
In the 1980’s I ventured out onto the streets of New York to pursue the effects of light and atmosphere on the old and weathered buildings of my neighborhood at that time, the East Village. On the streets of NYC’s older neighborhoods such as the East Village and Greenwich Village, I feel the history of the city and the continuity of life; the old buildings seem to live and breathe. Because of their low height, the sky, the light, and the clouds can be integrated into my work. This fascinating mixture gives me both satisfaction and joy, and enables me to capture the beauty of nature, even in the heart of an urban metropolis. I also enjoy exploring the countryside and using my vision on rural and completely natural landscapes. I am constantly amazed at the immense variety of nature, and I feel freed by its spaciousness. In some unexplained and inexplicable way, my paintings are a link between the city and the country.
I have had solo exhibitions in New York City, San Francisco, Bridgehampton, and Amsterdam. Currently I am on the Board of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. I have participated in group exhibitions at the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT; Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY; St. George Art Museum, St. George, UT; Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, David City, NE; Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine, TX; Cahoun Museum, Cotuit, MA; Williamsburg Art & Historic Center, Brooklyn, NY; Kertesz Fine Art, San Francisco, CA; The Schoolhouse Gallery, Croton Falls, NY. I have exhibited in various galleries and collections in New York City including: the Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island; G.W. Einstein Gallery; Andre Zarre Gallery; Broome St. Gallery; Blue Mountain Gallery; Bowery Gallery and the Salmagundi Club. My work is in the permanent collection of the Noble Maritime Collection, Cahoon Museum of American Art, the Mattatuck Museum, the Stobart Collection and The New School, NY, NY.
Born: New York City
Education: BA in Classics & Fine Art History, New York University, New York, NY;
The Art Students’ League, New York, NY; Independent Study in Paris and Amsterdam.
Selected Public and Private Collections:
Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, MA
Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
The Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island, NY
The New School, NY, NY
The Stobart Foundation, Salem, MA
Webster Hall, NY, NY
The Ken Ratner Collection, NY, NY
Naomi Hemple, Argosy Bookstore, NY, NY
Barnes Coy Architects, Bridgehampton, NY
Selected Solo and Two-person Exhibitions:
2020 City & Country:Twenty Paintings by Patricia Melvin, Gilbert Gallery, 60 Main St., Farmington, CT
2008 Memories of the Lower East Side, E. 4th St. Gallery, 67 E. 4th St., NY, NY
2007 Shadows & Lights, Manhattan Athletic Club, 277 Park, NY, NY
2005 Shakespeare’s Sister, 270 Court St., Brooklyn, NY
2002 Chelsea & Co., 179 Main St., Great Barrington, MA
2001-2 Jody Alan Goldstein Fine Art, New York, NY; Bridgehampton, NY
2001 Beaux Arts Gallery, Woodbury, CT
1997 The Schoolhouse Gallery, 1 Owens Rd., Croton Falls, NY
1996 Chuck Levitan Gallery, Grand St., NY, NY
1989 Beaux Arts Gallery, Southbury, CT
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2019 Greenwich Village and Environs, Salmagundi Club, Fifth Avenue, NY, NY.
Summer Salon, Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Bowery Gallery, West 25th Street, NY, NY.
2018 Philipse Manor Hall En Plein Air, Philipse Manor Hall, 29 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701. Emily Stedman, curator.
Small Works/Baruch/2018, juried exhibition, Sidney Mishkin Gallery, 135 East 22nd Street, NY, NY, Richard Timperio and Elizabeth Avedon, curators.
SOUND & IMAGE: Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune Street, NY, NY
2017 Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors: Works on Paper, Callahan Gallery, St. Francis College, 180 Remsen St., Brooklyn, NY
2014-2016 A Feeling of Humanity: Contemporary Western Art from the Ken Ratner Collection, Traveling exhibition beginning at the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT, continuing to the Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY; the St. George Art Museum, St. George, UT; the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, David City, NE and concluding at the Museum of the Big Bend, Alpine, TX.
2016 Small Works Invitational, Works on Paper, Blue Mountain Gallery, 530 West 25th St., NY, NY
Invitational , NOHO/M 55 Gallery, 530 West 25th St., NY, NY
2015 Celebrating our 75th Anniversary:The Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors , Po Kim Gallery, 417 Lafayette St., NY, NY
2014-15 Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors 75th Anniversary Works on Paper Exhibition, St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY
2014 Inspired: Contemporary Artists Respond to John A. Noble, Noble Maritime Collection, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island, NY
2013 Artist’s Choice, The Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Office of the Manhattan Borough President, 1 Centre Street, NY, NY
2012 The Image and the Word, The Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune Street, NY, NY
Reawakenings:Emerging from Spring into Winter, The Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, Cape Cod, MA
2011 Federation Modern Painters & Sculptors, Soho, Broome Street Gallery, 498 Broome St., NY, NY
Glimpses Beyond, Francesca Archilesi Fine Art at Bond Street Gallery, 25 Hudson St., NY, NY
2010 Federation Modern Painters & Sculptors at the NY Mercantile Exchange, 1 North End Avenue, NY, NY
Picturing the Lower East Side, Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Ernest Rubenstein Gallery, Educational Alliance, 197 E. Broadway, NY, NY
2009 Women:Diverse Interludes, Andre Zarre Gallery, 529 W. 20th St., NY, NY
Bowery Gallery Juried Exhibition, Bowery Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., NY, NY
2008-11 Tugs, Night & Day, Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island, NY
2008 Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors at Broome Street, Broome Street Gallery, NY, NY
Summer Light, Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune St., NY, NY
Landing Salt, Pearl Street Gallery, 100 Pearl St., Chelsea, MA
Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY
2007 Group Show, Kelly Gallery, 368 E. 8th St, NY, NY
Selections from Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, Westbeth Gallery, NY, NY
2006-7 Salt Mountain, The Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island, NY
2006 Women of the Streets, Three Plein Air Painters, Shakespeare’s Sister, Brooklyn, NY
Painting the Metropolis: Visions of Lower Manhattan by 19 Contemporary Artists, Educational Alliance,197 East Broadway, NY, NY
East Village Parks Conservancy Art Show, Phatory Gallery, E. 9th St., NY, NY
2005 Crossing Brooklyn Bridge, The Red Hook Painters, Brooklyn Borough President’s Office,Brooklyn, NY
2005,00,99 Artistas de Loisaida Annual Exhibition, Lincoln Center, NY, NY
2004, 5 Holiday Art Show,Object Image Gallery, 91 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY
2004-11Broome St. Gallery Holiday Invitational Exhibition, 498 Broome St., NY, NY
2004 Crossing Brooklyn Bridge,Williamsburg Art & Historic Center, Brooklyn, NY (also Curated Exhibit)
Crossings, Images of NY Bridges,Object Image Gallery, 91 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY
Audubon Artists Association Member Exhibition,Woodhaven, NY
2003 An Artist’s Life,Broome Street Gallery, 498 Broome St., NY, NY
Paintings of the Meat Packing District,Macelleria, 48 Gansevoort St, NY, NY
2002&04 Annual Exhibit, John Noble Collection, Staten Island, NY
Holiday Show,Main St. Gallery, Dobbs Ferry, NY
2001 World Trade Exorcisms,Gallery X, 23 W. 129th St., NY, NY
Expressions of Light, Skylight Gallery, Cedar Tavern, NY, NY
2000 Gardens, Buildings & Birdhouses,Main St. Gallery, Dobbs Ferry, NY
1999 The Big Apple, NY Mercantile Exchange, NY, NY
From Union Square to Battery Park,New York Law School, 47 Worth St, NY, NY
1998 Feast for the Eyes,The Educational Alliance, 197 E. Broadway, NY, NY
World Artists for Tibet,Blue Mountain Gallery, 121 Wooster St., NY, NY
1997-02 Annual Exhibit,Bronx River Art Gallery, 1087 E. Tremont, Bronx, NY
1997-03,05 Annual Small Works Invitational,Blue Mountain Gallery, NY, NY
1997 Summer Invitational, Winter Invitational,Chuck Levitan Gallery, 42 Grand St., NY, NY
Hori-Zonal Components,Bronx River Art Center & Gallery, Bronx, NY
1996 Smack,The Emerging Collector, 62 Second Ave., NY, NY
1995 The $800 Show,G.W. Einstein, 591 Broadway, NY, NY
1994 Schoonmaker Group Exhibition,Schoonmaker Building, Sausalito, CA
1988 The Alliance of Figurative Artists,Ten Worlds Gallery, Warren St., NY, NY
1987 The Street Painters and Guests,Lever House, Park Ave at 53rd St., NY, NY
Gallery Retrospective, Circle Work Visions Gallery, 117 E. 7th St., NY, NY
Urban Plight, Urban Light, The Cityscape Explored, Circle Work Visions Gallery, 117 E. 7th St., NY, NY
Exhibitions also at various galleries and alternative spaces in Shelter Island, NY, Southbury, CT, San Francisco, CA, Sausalito, CA, and Amsterdam, Holland. Represented by the Berkshire Art Gallery, 80 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA.
Grants:
2019 Stobart Foundation Grant
2003 Noble Maritime Collection Grant for Lithography
2002 New York Foundation for the Arts Grant
Professional Affiliations:
Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Advisory Board Member
New York Artists’ Equity
Selected Publications:
Forbes, “Theater for the New City Virtually Presents TNC’s 25th Lower East Side Festival of the Arts,” by Risa Sarachan, with illustration, May 21, 2020
John O’Hern, “Inherent Beauty,” with illustration, Western Art Collector, June, 2014, pp.64-65
Waterbury Republican, with illustration, April 14, 2012, front page
Joanna Crosby, “Cahoon Museum looks toward Spring,” Cape Codder Online, Feb.9, 2012
NY Daily News, with illustration, April 23, 2011, p.6
Oxford University Press Educational DVD, Interview and Paintings, 2010
The Irish Echo (NYC), with illustration, June 11-17, 2008, p. 28
“Little Boats with Big Responsibilities,”Staten Island Advance, Feb. 24, 2008, pp1-2E, with illustration
Up at Lou’s Fish, The Fulton Fish Market Chronicles, film by Mantlo & Lynn, 2006
Metro, with illustration, February 3-5, 2006, p. 2
New York Times, illustration, July 24, 2005, Sec. 14 (Long Island), p.13
Marquis Who’s Who in America, 2005
The Villager (NYC), with illustration, July 28, 2004, p. 31
The Berkshire Eagle, with illustration, Aug. 10, 2003, p. A-1
Sievert, Robert, “Street Verismo,” www.Artezine.com, No. 9, 2003
The Villager, with illustration, June 11, 2003, p.31
Westchester County Times, with illustration, Jan. 2003, p. 4
O’Shaughnessy, Tracey, “Beaux Arts Exhibit Shows New York’s Softer Side,” Waterbury Republican , Oct. 11, 2001, with illustration, pp. 1D-3D
“Public Connections,” The Newtown Bee, September 28, 2001
“Previews,” Litchfield County Times, with illustration , Sept. 21, 2001
Journal of the American Planning Association, with cover illustration, Winter, 2001, also p. 9
O’Shaughnessy,Tracey, “Art Work to Warm a Winter’s Day,” Waterbury Republican, Jan. 26, 2001, p. 12- B.
Besonen, Julie, “Alpha-best City,” The New York Daily News, illustration, April 9, 2000, p. 2
Petrillo, Jackie, “Gardens, Buildings and Birdhouses,” The Rivertowns Enterprise, March 31, 2000, p. 23
“On Location,” Antiques and the Arts Weekly, with illustration, Jan. 28, 2000, p. 79
Kadet, Ann, “Listings,” Tribeca Trib, Vol. V, No. 9, May, 1999
“Artsbeat,” The Villager, September 10, 1997, p.9
“Summer Show,” The Patent Trader, with illustration, Aug, 7, 1997
“East Side Arts,” Our Town, with illustration, Vol. 26, No. 38, Aug. 15, 1996
The Villager, July 31, 1996
“Sunday Spotlight,” The New York Daily News, with illustration, Aug. 27, 1995
“Melvins Exhibit at First Federal,” Voices, Jan. 5, 1994, p.39
The Palm Beach Post, with illustration, March 6, 1990, p. 2B
Voices, Woodbury, CT, with illustration, August 16, 1989, p. 54
“This Week in Connecticut,” The New York Times, with illustration, June 18, 1989, CN p.14
The Waterbury Republican, with illustration, May 28, 1989
“Gallery Features New York Painter,” Voices, with illustration, May 24, 1989, p. 90
Corcoran, Terry, Waterbury Republican, with illustration, July 6, 1987, p. A-10
Painting the Wannamaker Building, Astor Place