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.
George Alfred Avison
Illustration, Painting/Drawing
1885 – 1970
WPA muralist and illustrator.
- Biography/Description of Work
Avison grew up in Norwalk, worked after high school at an engraving firm, and studied under Robert Henri, Kenneth Hayes Miller and other realist artists at the New York School of Art. By 1908, he had become a freelance illustrator, supplying artwork to magazine houses and for books, many for young adults (St.Nicholas Magazine, Youth’s Companion, Boy’s Life, American Girl). Around 1910 he moved to Perry Avenue in the Silvermine area of Norwalk, and became part of Solon Borglum’s weekly artist group which initially met in Borglum’s studio. He remained active in the Silvermine Guild through the 1940s. Avison painted murals in Fairfield and New Canaan for the WPA, and designed the ‘Streets of the Nineties’ exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. By 1954, he had moved his studio to New Canaan.
- Associated Resource(s)