Artists Spotlight: Sally Haley
Sally Haley (1908-2007), painter
RACC Percent for Art (Multnomah County) for Untitled (Green Leaf Bouguet), 1995; Two donations to the City of Portland Public Art Collection: In Reflection, 1960's at Keller Auditorium & Street Signs, 1969 at City Hall, Rm. #310.
On September 1, 2007 the Portland art community lost one of its most gifted painters, Sally Haley, at age 99. Haley and her late husband, Michele Russo, were part of an influential mid-century generation of artists who were pioneers in creating a local art scene.
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Sally Haley, Untitled
(basket with apples and walnuts), 1996 |
A native of Bridgeport, Conn., Haley graduated from Yale University in 1931 and moved to Portland in 1947 with Russo - joining a small but dynamic art scene that included Carl and Hilda Morris, Louis Bunce and William Givler.
A well-respected and avidly followed painter in Oregon, Sally Haley created paintings that evoke a powerful presence. In acrylic and egg tempera, Haley rendered familiar objects: baskets, drapery, eggs, fruit, and vegetables, in minimal environments. These images are elegantly simple, their quiet effect is a compelling attraction on the viewer.
Over her long and productive career, Haley received numerous awards, including the Oregon Governor's Award for the Arts in 1989, and had many solo and group exhibits throughout the country.
Her work is also part of many public and private collections, including the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington; Willamette University, Salem, Oregon; the American Telephone and Telegraph Company of New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, California; and Kaiser Foundation.
The City of Portland and Multnomah County's Public Art Collections, administered by RACC, have several of Haley's paintings (see above).
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Sally Haley, Haley 300
(featured in Northwest Matriarchs of Modernism, 2004 at The Art Gym) |
In 1975, The Portland Art Museum hosted a career retrospective when Haley was in her late 60s. Another career survey was presented by The Art Gym at Marylhurst University in 1993 when at 84 she was producing some of her best work. The Art Gym also featured Haley in a 2004 exhibition, Northwest Matriarchs of Modernism (funded in part by a RACC Project Grant). As The Art Gym curator, Terri Hopkins, explained, "Much of her best work was done in her 60s, 70s and 80s. She went the distance as an artist."
A Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by Sally Haley now in the Governor's Office will run from September 10-October 26. The Art in the Governor's Office Program honors selected Oregon artists with exhibitions in the reception area of the Governor's Office in the State Capitol. The three paintings included in this exhibition are each part of the Percent for Art in Public Places Collection of the State of Oregon. The works, loaned from the Department of Revenue, State Capitol and Oregon Liquor Control Commission, where they are permanently installed are, respectively, Yellow Basket with Lemons, 1980; Camellias, 1976; and Royal with Baskets, 1978.
Sally Haley's estate is represented by Laura Russo Gallery, Portland. For more information see D.K. Row's article in The Oregonian, 9/3/07.
Contact Information:
website:www.laurarusso.com
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RACC Staff to Contact
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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