Creator Record
Images
Metadata
Name |
Meloy, Henry |
Dates & places of birth and death |
b. 1902 d. 1951 |
Nationality |
American |
Occupation |
Illustrator, Artist, Professor at Columbia University |
Notes |
Henry Meloy was born to Montana ranchers who owned the Grayson Creek Ranch and a lumberyard in Townsend. Henry and his brother Peter were both inclined toward art and dug clay to conduct firing experiments in the ranch's blacksmithing forge. After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Meloy relocated to New York City to continue his studies at the National Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Students League. In New York, he met Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, George Grosz, Reginald Marsh, Buckminster Fuller, Willem de Kooning and others. Meloy spent the Depression creating commercial illustrations, painting portraits, and fulfilling Works Progress Administration commissions. In 1940, he was hired at Columbia University where he taught until his untimely death at age 49. The Meloy brothers first met Archie Bray, owner of the Western Clay Brickyard, in 1936. The trio developed plans to found a pottery studio at the brickyard. Branson G. Stevenson became involved, and following Henry's death, Bray, Peter Meloy, and Stevenson established the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts. BR The University of Montana has over 4,000+ of Henry Meloy's artworks and personal journals in our archive collection. |
Role |
Artist |
