With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Wendell Austin
Painting/Drawing
1896 – 1966
A resident of Milford from 1940 until his death, Austin painted a WPA mural for Central School in Winsted entitled the Gulliver’s Travel Series.
- Biography/Description of Work
Wendell Austin graduated from the Yale School of Fine Arts in 1917, and was slated to receive a Prix de Rome but instead served on the Western Front in France for two years. Upon his return, he studied at the Art Students League with Frank Dumond. Married with a family, Austin worked as a commercial artist, and started the Austin School of Art and Design in New Haven. Having moved to Milford in 1942, where he turned a former carriage house into his home and studio, he helped found the Milford Art League in 1950. He taught painting at home and at Greens Farms in Westport over the years.
- Sources view
- https://ctstatelibrary.org/austin-wendell/
- Associated Resource(s)