Chas Fagan
Chas Fagan is an American artist and sculptor. He is known for painting oil portraits of all 45 U.S. Presidents (as of 2016), on commission from C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association.[1][2] He also painted the official canonization image of Mother Teresa on commission from the Knights of Columbus, basing his work on a photograph by Michael Collopy.[3] His other works include portraits, landscapes and still life, along with sculptures related to American historical figures.[4] His work was featured in the American Presidents: Life Portraits exhibition in 1999, and in other venues.
Chas Fagan | |
---|---|
Born | 1966 |
Nationality | American |
Education | Yale University |
Known for | Oil Painting, Sculpture |
Notable work | Portraits, Sculptures, Political Cartoons |
Website | Chas Fagan Fine Art http://www.chasfagan.com/ |
Biography
Chas Fagan was born in Ligonier, Pennsylvania in 1966.[5] He spent much of his early life in Belgium with his father, who worked as a diplomat.[3] He graduated Yale University with a degree in Russian and East European Studies. His earliest artistic works were political cartoons in a variety of publications. His career as a painter took off after his portrait of Ronald Reagan appeared on the cover of the conservative publication The Weekly Standard.
His bronze sculpture of Reagan received criticism from KCRW journalist Edward Goldman for its:
stiff pose and bland facial expression echoing thousands of similarly banal portraits.... With the art of portraiture out of fashion in the leading American art schools, the statue was commissioned from a second-rate, self-taught artist who only excels at the art of pleasing his less than demanding clientele.[6]
Today he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Works
- Ronald Reagan (2009), National Statuary Hall Collection, Washington, D.C.
References
- "New Trump Portrait, First Post-Election, Joins C-SPAN Presidents Collection. C-SPAN Networks (2016)" (PDF). Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- Harding, Robert. "C-SPAN's 'American Presidents' exhibit coming to Destiny USA in Syracuse". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- "How Charlotte artist captured Mother Teresa for official portrait in sainthood ceremony". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- https://www.chasfagan.com/about/
- "Chas Fagan – Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- "White House Reduced: Invasion of Bad Art – Art Talk". 5 June 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2018.