Robert Hanson 1936-2011

Robert Hanson (1936 - 2011) dedicated his art practice to portraiture or in his words, “drawing the head.” Hanson worked with live models in real time, perfectly capturing a specific moment of personal expression or self-reflection. Though he worked with a small group of models each portrait is surprisingly unique, portraying the myriad of different aspects of the self, constantly shifting from moment to moment. The formal approach which dominated his early career is evident as he examines minute variations on the form as it shifts and changes. Hanson studied at the Boston Museum School (Boston, MA), completing his degree in 1963. A long-time Professor of painting and drawing at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Robert Hanson was a working artist in the Northwest since the early 1970s. His work has been exhibited at SFMOMA (San Francisco, CA), the Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA), The Art Gym at Marylhurst University (Marylhurst, OR), the Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA), and in 2009 at PNCA’s Swigert Commons, a solo exhibition for which a catalog was produced. In 1989 he was the recipient of the Oregon Arts Commission’s Master Artist Fellowship, and in 1997 was a resident at the Edvard Munch Estate in Oslo, Norway.  In 2012 his work was featured in an APEX Series solo exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. Elizabeth Leach Gallery continues to represent the Estate of Robert Hanson.