Conger metcalf biography of alberta

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. 2008-01-15 . 2008-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080102234613/http://www.public.coe.edu/departments/Art/metcalf.html . This formal European influence affected his style, which differs from the earthy realism of his American Regionalist mentors.^[4] Metcalf was well-known and very active in the Boston, Massachusetts art community.^[2] Today, his works can be seen at the Café Pamplona in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, and at the Conger Metcalf Gallery at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.^[2]

Notes and References

1. http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=101444 AskArt biography
2. Raine, K, (2003).

   You say, you found what you wanted to paint, in Florence. The Pashgians' son donated the floor rug in the adjacent Perrine Gallery as well the Portuguese hand-loomed rya-style rugs used in the two smaller galleries.  The Perrine Gallery, which connects to both of the smaller galleries, houses Coe's Grant Wood collection.

   Unlike Cone and Wood, the other painters who have notable collections of their paintings in Coe’s library, Metcalf’s favorite medium was not a traditional painting surface but rather cameo paper, a soft paper with a surface of fine clay.   In his eulogy for Metcalf, given in Sinclair Auditorium in April of 1998, John Brown, Coe’s Chancellor and friend of the artist, recalled the impressions of a journalist watching Metcalf work with this difficult medium (a challenge exacerbated by his arthritic hands): “When I see you doing this, I feel like I have been watching Matisse draw.”  Metcalf’s wit was evident in his quick rely: “I wish I had seen Matisse draw.”

   In terms of both style and substance, Metcalf’s life and art was transformed when, as a soldier during World War II, he traveled through Italy, particularly the cities of Naples and Florence.   He would make twenty more trip to Florence.   The impact of Italy goes far beyond a fascination with frames available for purchases (he once bought over 400 frames in Florence during a two-year period).  Italy and its people permeate his paintings:  the use of earth colors, the landscapes, the shadows, the still lifes, the colors (sienna and burnt oranges and antique blues), the exquisite modeling of human anatomy,  the portraits of indigent children, the small drawings around human figures (almost like Italian graffiti).  According to Kathryn Schultz of the Cambridge Art Association, writing about Metcalf following his 80^th birthday, “His manners, speech, dress, the food he invariably offers from a [tiny] kitchen .

   [Metcalf]: And uh, it's been a very satisfying wonderful life. all suggest a backward step into a 17^th century Venetia Court.  The furnishings of his home, a collection of objects and furniture acquired over this lifetime of ‘knowing how to see,’ are backdrops for his paintings.’”

   In a twenty-year period from 1973 to 1992, Coe hosted ten Metcalf exhibitions, including the retrospective show that was a collaboration between the college and the Athenaeum in Boston.  When Metcalf would visit Coe, he would bring with him an entourage of friends.  As his friend John Brown describes it, “When Conger came it was like Elizabeth I on a Royal Progress in the 16^th Century, except Conger stopped at your home to GIVE presents: cologne, perfume, Belgian truffles, flowers, ties, bolts of cloth, paintings, corn chowder recipes, Iowa chops.”  Perhaps Metcalf was correct: he was an Iowan after all.