Artist's Biography
George William Allen, born in 1948, is an award-winning artist whose works hang in public and private collections throughout the United States. Vern G. Swanson, Ph.D., a noted author of several art books and Director of the Springville Museum of Art, which houses the primary collection of Utah representational art, describes George Allen’s work:
“The artist’s pigmentation is rich and succulent, while his brushwork is bold and responsive. He is a figurative artist who powerfully probes his setter’s personalities. I like his continued studies into different genres. Lately, he has painted still-lives; florals, vegetables, and fruits. These, too, are painted with bravura and sensitivity. I have known George Allen for twelve years as Director of a Museum specializing in contemporary realism. He has entered and been accepted in numerous major exhibitions here and regionally during that time. Awards have followed him, both at the Springville Museum of Art and elsewhere.”
George Allen has lived and studied art in France, where he became directly acquainted with European art. He has also studied with Zheng Wen Xin, one of China’s foremost representational oil painters, Alvin Gittins, Utah’s most famous portrait and figurative artist, and Daniel Greene, the well-known New York portrait and figurative painter. Michaelangelo, Nicolai Fechin, David Leffel, and Ann Marie Oborn have also inspired and influenced his work. Like Nicolai Fechin, George Allen has been drawn to New Mexico, its people, and its strong tradition of supporting the arts. Although he is now a full-time artist, George Allen taught art at Salt Lake Community College for twelve years, including still-life painting, advanced painting, life drawing, and anatomy. His classes were always in high demand. He teaches still life and life drawing workshops around the country, attended by many accomplished artists that have established reputations in their own right. His work has been featured in “Utah Artists,” a respected book of work from Utah’s best artists.
Art is George Allen’s breath and passion. In his own words, he describes why he is an artist:
“I believe that an artist’s final work is a depiction of their impressions–emotionally, physically, intellectually, and above all, artistically. Hopefully, the viewer will sense and enjoy the impressions I am trying to convey. You will find my signature in each aspect of my paintings, from the subject matter to the color, strokes, texture, and treatment of light. This is my interpretation of art as I believe it should be: enduring, evocative, consistent, and memorable.”
