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Henry Gasser
American, 1909 – 1981The Outskirts of Spartanburg
casein on paper, circa 1940Henry Gasser was born in Newark, NJ. Newark, being the largest city in the state was bursting with energy and would be a source of inspiration for many of Gasser’s most important works. From childhood, he felt a connection everyday with people going about their business in a city interspersed with commercial high rises, row houses, majestic movie theaters and large private homes.
In his early years, Gasser had the good fortune to meet the artist John R. Grabach (1880-1981), and was greatly influenced by his subject matter and painting techniques. Grabach was an Ashcan school practitioner (started by Robert Henri, artist of “The Girl with Red Hair” in the collection of The Spartanburg Museum of Art) and soon became a father figure and mentor to Gasser.
During his years in the military, Henry Gasser was stationed at Camp Croft in Spartanburg. He became very interested in Southern culture. His frequent trips south provided him with subject matter that was exotic yet familiar. He painted numerous watercolors of downtown Spartanburg, Camp Croft, and Spartanburg County. Gasser’s work is represented in over 60 museums throughout America. During his career, he exhibited extensively and won numerous awards.
SAC 2005 - Acquired through the generosity of:
The Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, Mr. Gary T. Erbe, The George Ernest Burwell, Jr. Fund at The Spartanburg County Foundation
return to permanent collection
