David Byrd “Montrose VA, 1958-1988”

Anton Kern Gallery

[Image: David Byrd "Untitled" n.d., colored pencil on paper, 11 x 14 in. from the original manuscript Montrose V.A. 1958-1988, pg. 146. ]

This event has ended.

Anton Kern Gallery is pleased to announce its forthcoming exhibition David Byrd: Montrose VA, 1958 – 1988. The opening date, February 25th, coincides with the late artist’s 95th birthday.

The exhibition centers around Byrd’s original manuscript, of the same title, chronicling his observations during his thirty-year employment in the psychiatric ward of a VA hospital in Upstate New York. This poignant compilation expresses the artist’s perspective as a veteran himself, and his sensitivity toward those living with trauma. The book spans over 200 pages, and includes 45 color drawings, 70 pencil drawings, and 3200 words in the form of captions and longer texts. Select pages will be displayed throughout the gallery in vitrines, accompanied by oil paintings, sketches and other materials relating to this major body of work.

Composed during the reflective years of his later life (circa 2002 - 2003), Byrd considered this handmade book of revisited memories his magnum opus. It serves as a codex for understanding his personal history, as well as his psychologically stirring oeuvre of paintings and works on paper. Byrd was intent on bringing his manuscript to the public’s attention during his lifetime, however, he struggled to find the resources to publish. The artist left behind an archive of correspondence that attests to the efforts he made writing to prospective publishers. To honor the artist’s vision, the gallery has published a faithful replica of Montrose VA, 1958 – 1988, in collaboration with the David Byrd Estate and Hatje Cantz. The book is available for purchase at the gallery and on our online shop.

To request further information and press images, please contact: Erin Harris erin@antonkerngallery.com

About the artist

David Byrd was an American painter born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1926. His father, who suffered from mental illness, left the family when David was a young child. When David was twelve, his mother was forced by economic hardship to place him and his five siblings into foster care. In 1942, his mother gathered her children back to her in New York. Working as a ticket seller at a movie theater in Brooklyn, she could barely support them.

Byrd left home at age 17 to join the Merchant Marine, and was later drafted into the US Army during World War II. He used the GI Bill to enroll at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts in New York City, where he studied for two years under the French painter Amédée Ozenfant.

Throughout the 1950s, Byrd worked a series of odd jobs— including janitor, delivery man, movie house usher — anything that would cover his bills while also (and more importantly) allowing him time to paint. From 1958 - 1988 he worked as an orderly in the psychiatric ward at the VA Hospital in Montrose, New York. His daily experiences during this time inspired his most defining body of work.

Byrd was a keen observer of his surroundings who painted the people and situations he encountered, past and present, from memory. He also painted scenes from his daily commute— including mountains, bridges, houses, gas stations, and shopping centers. In 1988 he retired, purchased 11 acres of land in Sidney Center, NY, on which he spent several years hand-building a new home. Once completed, he focused full-time on painting. His work was not publicly exhibited until 2013, only a few months before his death at the age of 87.