George Segal
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BIOGRAPHY
George Segal was born in New York on November 26, 1924 to a Jewish couple who emigrated from Eastern Europe. His parents first settled in the Bronx where they ran a butcher shop. They later moved to a New Jersey poultry farm.
While studying at Cooper Union, Pratt, NYU and Rutgers, Segal met other young artists eager to make statements based on the real world rather than the pure abstractionism that was all the rage. He joined the 10 th St scene, painting and concentrating on expressionist, figurative themes.
After marriage to Helen in 1946, they bought their own chicken farm. In order to support his family during the lean years he taught Art and English at the local high school and at Rutgers. In 1957 he was included in “Artists of the New York School: Second Generation” an exhibit at the Jewish Museum. For the next three years he showed annually at the Hansa. The path from painting to sculpture and the specific form of the sculpture is embodied in a series of events from the late 1950’s. In 1956, Segal was introduced to the Hansa Gallery and its’ artistic influence. The following year, Allan Kaprow chose the Segal farm as the scene of his first Happening – live art with an environmental sensibility. In 1958 Segal began to experiment in sculpture and had a one-man show at the Green Gallery in 1960, featuring several plaster figures.
The last years of his life were filled with new creation and expression. His black and white photographs of the streets of New York & New Jersey and of people in his life were used to create new tableaux for his sculpture and to create close up drawings of human expression. He remained active, engaged and productive until his death on June 9, 2000. Throughout his life he was recognized around the world for his artistic work and his humanistic passion.
Education
Cooper Union School of Art
Pratt Institute of Design
1949 B.A. in Arts Education, New York University
1963 Master in Fine Arts, Rutgers University, NJ