Harold Paris

{{short description|American artist}}

{{Infobox artist

| name = Harold Paris

| image = Photo of Harold Paris.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Harold Paris, 1977 by Mimi Jacobs

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|8|16|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Edgemere, Long Island, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|7|1|1925|8|16|mf=y}}

| death_place = El Cerrito, California, U.S.

| education = Academy of Fine Arts, Munich,
Atelier 17

| field = Printmaking, sculpture

| movement = Abstract Expressionism

| spouse = Deborah Little Paris{{cite web |title=Harold Paris papers, 1946-1982 |url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/harold-paris-papers-7200 |website=Archives of American Art |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |accessdate=29 April 2020 |language=en}}

}}

Harold Persico Paris (1925–1979) was an American printmaker, sculptor and educator. He taught art classes at the University of California, Berkeley from 1963 until 1979.

Early life and education

Paris was born on August 16, 1925, in Edgemere, Long Island, New York.{{Cite web|date=2018-09-21|title=Harold Persico Paris|url=https://art.famsf.org/harold-persico-paris|access-date=2022-02-02|website=FAMSF Search the Collections|language=en}} In World War II he served as a correspondent for the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes and during that time he witnessed the death camps at Buchenwald concentration camp which had a profound effect on him and his art.{{cite web |title=Harold Persico Paris Biography |url=https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/1820/Paris/Harold |website=Annex Galleries Fine Prints |accessdate=29 April 2020}} Paris studied printmaking at Atelier 17 in New York City and sculptural casting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (German: Akademie der Bildenden Künste) in Munich.{{cite web |title=Harold Paris |url=https://www.askart.com/artist/Harold_Persico_Paris/25793/Harold_Persico_Paris.aspx |website=AskArt |accessdate=29 April 2020}} In 1953 and 1954 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship.{{cite web |title=Harold Paris |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/harold-paris/ |website=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation |accessdate=29 April 2020}} He was also the recipient of a Fulbright Grant and a Tiffany Foundation grant.

Career and late life

In the early 1960s Paris settled in California. In 1963 he became a professor at University of California, Berkeley. He taught printmaking and sculpture{{cite web |title=University of California: In Memoriam, 1980 |url=http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb1j49n6pv;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00071&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=calisphere |website=Calisphere |publisher=The University of California |accessdate=29 April 2020}} and co-founded the bronze foundry there. One of Paris' students was Shirin Neshat.{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Alina|date=2019-03-01|title=Shirin Neshat on Her Path from Art School Outcast to Contemporary Art Icon|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-shirin-neshat-path-art-school-outcast-contemporary-art-icon|access-date=2022-02-02|website=Artsy|language=en}} Paris was also an involved with the Peter Voulkos' pot palace ceramic studio.{{cite web |title=Hal Fischer on Harold Paris |url=https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/197805/harold-paris-68391 |website=Artforum |accessdate=29 April 2020}}

Paris exhibited extensively while in California. In 1972 a major exhibition of his work The California Years was held at the University Art Museum in Berkeley.

Paris died in El Cerrito, California, on July 1, 1979.

Collections

Paris' work is included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago,{{cite web |title=Harold Paris |url=https://www.artic.edu/artists/36131/harold-paris |website=The Art Institute of Chicago |accessdate=29 April 2020 |language=en}} the Museum of Modern Art,{{cite web |title=Harold Paris |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/4498 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |accessdate=29 April 2020 |language=en}} the National Gallery of Art,{{cite web |title=Harold Persico Paris |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.5160.html |website=National Gallery of Art |accessdate=29 April 2020}} the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,{{cite web |title=Harold Paris, Patois II, 1963 |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/64.33/|website=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |accessdate=29 April 2020}} and the Whitney Museum of American Art.{{cite web |title=Harold Paris |url=https://whitney.org/artists/990 |website=Whitney Museum of American Art |accessdate=29 April 2020 |language=en}} His papers are in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

References

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