Friday, August 10, 2012

David McCosh (1903-1981)

From the archives of All things Ironing - Irons in oils.
David McCosh (1903-1981)
David McCosh - A woman ironing (1931)
David McCosh, an American painter and teacher, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1903.

In 1922, he first studied art at Coe College and a year later embarked on six years of study at the Art Institute of Chicago, from which he graduated in 1926. In 1927, McCosh won a prestigious John Quincy Adams Fellowship, enabling him to travel and paint in Europe up till 1928.

In 1930, while painting in Oyster Bay, Long Island, McCosh met Anne Kutka, a gifted painter her self. The two were married in New Mexico in July 1934.

In 1932, McCosh began teaching at the Art Institute and at the Stone City Art colony in Iowa and two years later accepted an appointment at the University of Oregon, where he taught painting, drawing, and lithography until his retirement in 1970. McCosh died in Eugene in 1981.

"Learning to paint is learning to see, not to recognise familiar things."

Although McCosh put a lot of energy and thought into teaching, painting was the focus of his life. Despite experimenting with many styles his paintings were based on careful observation. “Learning to paint,” McCosh said, “is learning to see, not to recognize only familiar things.”