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Danny Pierce (artist)

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Danny Pierce
Born(1920-09-10)September 10, 1920[1]
Woodlake, California
DiedMarch 6, 2014(2014-03-06) (aged 93)
Kent, Washington
NationalityAmerican
EducationChouinard Art School, American Artists School, Brooklyn Museum School
Known forPrintmaking, Painting
SpouseJulia Rasmussen
ChildrenJulie Pierce, Daniel Pierce, Mary Alvarez, Nels Pierce
AwardsHonorary Doctorate of Arts

Daniel P. Pierce (September 10, 1920 – March 6, 2014) was a painter, printmaker and sculptor. He founded the University of Alaska’s art department in 1960 and retired as professor emeritus of art from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate of arts from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in recognition of his accomplishments as an artist and educator and for his contributions to the practice of art in Alaska.[2][3]

The Bronc Rider, engraving by Danny Pierce, 1955.

Early life and education

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Pierce was raised on a cattle ranch[4] in the Mojave desert and took to drawing animals at an early age. His formal training began in Los Angeles at the Art Center School, now the Art Center College of Design, and Chouinard Art Institute, which later merged with California Institute of Arts. WW II interrupted his education when he was drafted into the army in 1942.[4] He saw combat along the Siegfried Line, for which he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star; was at Normandy; and served in Germany following American occupation.[5] In 1947, he resumed his studies in New York under the auspices of the GI Bill. He studied with William Gropper and Raphael Soyer at the American Artists School and attended the also no-longer-extant Brooklyn Museum School, where he worked closely with Gabor Peterdi, Max Beckmann and Ben Shahn.[6]

Commercial and Academic Career

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In the late 40s, Pierce did freelance illustration for the popular and widely distributed pulp magazine Adventure immediately following the retirement of famed wildlife illustrator Lynn Bogue Hunt. He taught advanced printmaking at Hunter College, where he also took over the beginning drawing class from Clyfford Still in 1951.[6][7]

In 1953, he moved to Kent, WA and began teaching at various Seattle institutions, including Broadway High School, Seattle University, Cornish College of the Arts, Burnley School of Professional Art (now the Seattle Art Institute), and the Seattle Art Museum. In 1959, he became a Carnegie fellow at the University of Alaska.[6] His year as Carnegie artist-in-residence involved traveling around the state, teaching classes and workshops along the way. The following year he founded the University of Alaska’s art department and created the first academic art curriculum in the State. Among the students he taught in Alaska were Bernard Katexac, Dale De Armond, and Joseph Senugetuk.[8][9] While in Alaska, he served as an advisor to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The landmark report that he and economist George Rogers wrote in 1962 for the BIA, after the two of them traveled together through Canada, recommended self-determination and that non-commercial, academic institutions in Alaska host the production of Alaska Native art.[8] He was instrumental in hiring Ronald Senungetuk, who subsequently founded the university's Native Arts Center, to teach in the department.

In 1962, while teaching at the University of Alaska, he also earned a degree in journalism from the institution. In 1965, he was hired to teach printmaking at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He retired from the University of Wisconsin as professor emeritus in 1984.[6]

Art

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Angry Bird, woodcut by Danny Pierce, 1961.

When Pierce moved to Kent, Washington following his studies in New York, the bold color of his work did not conform to the parameters of the Northwest School of painting as defined by Seattle Art Museum Director Dr. Fuller. Fuller considered Pierce's work a negative influence in the Northwest and was supportive of Danny receiving the Carnegie grant, which took the artist to Alaska.[10]

Danny's work was by then receiving broader national and international recognition. In 1958 he was praised as "outstanding" by the Washington Post.[4]

In September and October 2010 a retrospective exhibition of his works took place at the Centennial Center Gallery in Kent, marking Pierce's 90th birthday.[4]


Cascadia Art Museum 12 miles north of Seattle, featured a major retrospective of Pierce's Alaska work. The exhibition, "Modern Alaska: Art of the Midnight Sun, 1930-1970", ran from April to July, 2018.

Death

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Pierce died on March 6, 2014, in Kent, Washington. He was 93.[11]

Artist's Publications

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Pierce’s Red Door Studio has published 29 limited edition woodcut-illustrated books. The artist composed each of the narratives and set the type, in addition to carving and printing all blocks. Among these books are several children’s stories, a thorough and meticulously researched compendium of American Revolutionary War uniforms, and various ethnographic and zoological volumes. One documents a whale hunt at Point Hope, Alaska. Others are concerned with rural labor, farming, fishing and animal-related subjects. The library at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee houses an archive of Pierce's artist books and maintains an online exhibition of them.[12]

Museum Collections

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References

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  1. ^ "Danny Pierce". Martin-zambito.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  2. ^ "Degree candidates | UAF Commencement 2012". Uaf.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  3. ^ "Humanities Chairman to Speak at 2012 Commencement". University of Alaska. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Steve Hunter (5 September 2010). "Kent artist Danny Pierce, whose work graces collections at MOMA, Smithsonian, Seattle Art Museum, to have birthday gala". Kent Reporter. Sound Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. ^ Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001). Seattle Goes to War. Seattle, WA: Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences. pp. 67–73.
  6. ^ a b c d "Biographical brief". Museum of Wisconsin Art. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  7. ^ Still, Clyfford (2001). Clyfford Still: Paintings, 1944-1960. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-300-08969-4.
  8. ^ a b University of Alaska-Fairbanks (2012). 2012 Commencement Program. Fairbanks: University of Alaska.
  9. ^ De Armond, Dale (1979). Dale De Armond: A First Book Collection of Her Prints. Anchorage, AK: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company. p. 1. ISBN 0-88240-131-9.
  10. ^ "Calling Kent Home". Kent TV. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Daniel P. Pierce". edline-yahn.com/. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Danny—36 Years at the Red Door Studio". University of Wisconsin Library. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. ^ "The Lily - Danny Pierce". City of Kent Official Website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  14. ^ "The Collection: Danny (Danny Pierce)". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
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