Painter In the Garden

Eliza Auth  "Painting in the Garden" 2010  private collection

Eliza Drake Auth created this painting of fellow artist Frances Galante during a plein air event at Camphill Special School.  Auth (b.1952) is known for her serene landscapes and gentle portraits.  Her softly-descriptive style and quietly glowing color seems to spring directly from the Boston School of painting, yet this Philadelphia-based artist has never lived in Boston, but studied at the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her work is represented by the Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. The artist's website can be seen here.

Frances Galante (b.1959) studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where she was one of the select circle of young artists mentored by Arthur DeCosta. In addition she earned a degree from Tyler School of Art, and received a scholarship for an Oxbow Artist's Residency. This versatile oil painter can turn her hand to almost any subject, but she is perhaps best known for her still-life work, with her paintings of flowers being in particularly high demand. We see her here happily ensconced in a garden, absorbed in painting some of her favorite subjects. Galante is represented by Artists' House Gallery in Philadelphia and her website can be seen here.

(Plein Air for Camphill, during which this piece was created, is an event organized to benefit a residential school/summer program for older teens and young adults with special needs. This age-group is a very under-served population, many services and programs for children with special needs simply end for children over age 14, many opportunities such as after-school play-study groups, weekend gym classes and summer camps, simply will not take children over 14, and relatively little else becomes available until legal adulthood at 21. It seems important to support institutions such as Camphill Special School that are striving to fill this desperate need for services for teens and young adults.  For more information on Camphill Special School click here. For more information on the most recent Plein Air for Camphill, click here.)