Biography

Alan McCord found he could express himself through art from an early age. While at Salisbury School in northwestern Connecticut, he developed a love of caricature, a skill that would lead him to study at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and an apprenticeship with Hans Staudi in Florence, Italy. He continued honing his skills for many years as a participant in a prestigious drawing group in New York whose members included Aaron Shikler and David Levine.

McCord has painted professionally since the 1970s. Over time his work has evolved from strict abstract expressionism to color-drenched landscapes that combine realism with abstracted composition. Upon first viewing, color is paramount in his work though he notes that, “It’s the values that are important.” He often finds his subject matter among the rolling hills and fields in the part of the world where he makes his home with his wife, Priscilla. From many vantage points and times of day, he renders the broad horizons and clear light of the northwest corner of Connecticut, the area where he made his artistic start. In a felicitous act of recognition, forty years after attending Salisbury School, McCord was honored as the first artist to exhibit his work at its new Tremaine Fine Art Gallery.

Increasingly frequent trips to Paris have led McCord to explore subjects that have long been an inspiration to artists. Sketching sessions in the Luxembourg gardens have resulted in a series of rapidly executed watercolors that capture the singular nature of the people and the place. McCord divides his time between Connecticut and Florida, where ocean, palms and wildlife provide the artist fresh subjects for graphic exploration from his unique, and deceptively simple, perspective—one that upon examination proves complex and always true.

McCord’s work has been exhibited in New York at the Museum of Modern Art, The Drawing Center, James Graham & Sons, and the Neil Gallery, among others. He has shown at The Hotchkiss School and the Tremaine Fine Art Gallery at Salisbury School, and in local libraries and galleries. His work is held in private and corporate collections and he has lectured at The Century Association, of which he is a member

The artist was featured in The Litchfield County Times in 2010 and published in New Drawings in America, 1982, introduction by Martha Beck.

Training

School of Visual Arts, New York, NY 1968 - 1970
Apprenticed with Hans Staudi, Florence, Italy 1971 - 1973
Studied with William Scharf, New York, NY 1973 - 1974

Studio Group

Aaron Shikler, David Levine weekly studio group 1977 - 1982

Exhibitions

The White Gallery, Lakeville, CT (Group show) December 2011-January 2012
Marion Art Center, Marion, MA (Two-man show) July 2011 – August 2011
Trinity Lime Rock Show, Falls Village, CT (Group Show) August 2011, 2011
Hotchkiss Library, Sharon, CT (One-man show) June 2010 – July 2010
Hotchkiss Library, Sharon, CT (Group Show) December 2009 – January 2010
The Norfolk Library, Norfolk, CT (Group Show) December 2009-January 2010
The Norfolk Library, Norfolk, CT (One-man show) August 2008
The Bear Project (created with Allen Blagden)
Northwest Arts Council November 2007
The Iron Tree Gallery, Millerton, NY (Two-man show) March 2006 - May 2006
The Tremaine Art Gallery, The Salisbury School, Lakeville, CT (One man show) October 2005-November 2005
Soprafina Gallery, Boston, MA (two-man show) June 2005-July 2005
The White Gallery, Lakeville CT (Group Show) December 2004-May 2005
The Tremaine Art Gallery, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT (Group show) July 2004
Bok Gallery, Sharon, CT (Group Show) June, 2004
The White Gallery, Lakeville, CT (Group Show) December, 2003
Morgan Lehman Gallery, Lakeville, CT (Group Show) September, 2003
The Tremaine Art Gallery, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT (Group show) June, 2002
James Graham & Sons, New York City (Group show) February, 2002
James Graham & Sons, New York City (two-man show) June-August, 2001
Holland &Holland, Nantucket, MA. (Group show) June-August 2001
The Tremaine Art Gallery, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT (Juried Show) June, 2001, July, 2000
Patsy Francis Gallery, Marion, MA (one man show) July-August, 2000
Maplebrook School, Amenia, NY (Juried Group show) June, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Garuda Gallery, Sharon, CT (one man show) May, 1999
Frick Gallery, Northeast Harbor, Maine (Group show) August-September, 1998
Ethel H. Blum Gallery, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine (Group show) July-August, 1998
Maplebrook School, Amenia, NY (Juried Group show) May, 1998
Maplebrook School, Amenia, NY (Featured artist) May, 1997
Maplebrook School, Amenia, NY (Group show) May, 1996, 1995, 1994
Garuda Gallery, Sharon, CT (Group show) June, 1997
David Gavin Gallery, Millerton, NY (one man show) November, 1996
Sharon Hospital, Sharon, CT (Group show) Dec. 1996-February, 1997
Sharon Hospital, Sharon, CT (One man show) June - August 1996
David Gavin Gallery, Millerton, NY (Group show) December, 1995
Garuda Gallery, Sharon, CT (Group show) December, 1995
McKinney & Doyle, Pawling, NY (One man show) February-March, 1995
Garuda Gallery, Sharon, CT (one man show) November, 1994
Millbrook Gallery, Millbrook, NY (Group show) September, 1994
Bedford Art Show - Juried Exhibition, Bedford, NY Fall-1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
Scoville memorial Library, Lakeville, CT (one man show) June, 1991
Marion Art Center, Marion, MA (2 person show) Fall, 1988
Mattapoisett Gallery, Mattapoisett, MA (Group show) Fall, 1987
Marion Art Center, Marion, MA (one man show) Summer, 1986
Drawing Center, New York, NY (Group show) Spring, 1982
Mid-Hudson Festival, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (two person show) Summer, 1979
B&B Designs, Sacramento, CA (one man show) Fall, 1978
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (Art lending) Spring, 1978
Drawing Center, New York, NY (Group show) Spring, 1977
Neil Gallery, New York, NY (one man show) Winter, 1976
Gallery Three, Greenwich, CT (Group show) Spring, 1976

Institutions & Corporate Collections

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Whitney Communications, New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Toshiba U.S. Headquarters, New York, NY
Corning Community College, Corning, New York
Finley, Kumble, Wagner, New York, NY
First Albany Corporation, Albany, New York
Nothing Heavy Inc., New York, NY
The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT
Sharon Hospital, Sharon, CT
Citibank, White Plains, New York, NY

Recorded & Illustrated

New Drawings in America, 1982, introduction by Martha Beck
McGaw Graphics, 1981 (Poster)