David Bates – American artist born 1952
David Bates spent his childhood in Garland, Texas, where his father took him hunting and fishing, a theme that often has been incorporated into his artwork. Both his portraits and his scenes of swamps in Louisiana, Arkansas, and east Texas convey a sense of regionalism, focusing on the people, the scenery, and the local pastimes of the area of the country where Bates lives.
In many of his works, such as “Ed Walker Cleaning Fish,” in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, he paints scenes of local fishermen or bait sellers of humble origins, illustrating the nostalgia for a less complicated time felt by many Americans today. Bates’ style of painting reflects the major influences on him in the art world, such as the German Expressionists, Marsden Hartley, and Vincent Van Gogh. His works often feature dark outlines, expressive lines, flat brush strokes, and thick impasto, yet he departs from abstract art and infuses his method of painting with the nostalgic themes and emotional overtones of the people and scenery surrounding him.
His works are in the collections of museums around the country, such as The Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., The High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, The New Orleans Museum of Art, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Information courtesy of Neal Auction Company, October 2008.