James Frances Hilleary (January 21, 1924 – April 10, 2014) was a working architect and painter who gained prominence as a member of the Washington Color School movement.
In 1942, Hilleary graduated from Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., after which he was immediately drafted into the Army.[1] After his military service, he enrolled at Catholic University. Hilleary had a passion for music and art throughout his life, having spent countless hours at the Phillips Collection while his father, who was also a musician and artist, studied art there under C. Law Watkins.[2] Accordingly, Hilleary double-majored in music and architecture, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor's degree in architecture.[3]
After graduation, Hilleary went into the private practice of architecture and remained a principal at his own firm until joining Rysson Maryland Corporation in 1976. Hilleary served on the executive committee of the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, wrote extensively for local and national publications, and was the recipient of several local and national awards for design excellence.
Though Hilleary had started a career as an architect, painting had been his passion since childhood.[4] Therefore, Hilleary began creating the paintings like those that he loved but could never afford.[4]
He was married to Margaret Keirn, the daughter of Brig. Gen. Donald J. Keirn, and had children Cecily, Leslie, Sidonie, and Keirn.[5]
Critical recognition
Hilleary was associated with the Washington Color School.[6][7][8] His work follows the general nature of color-field painting but is largely concerned with the manipulation of sequential stripes.[9][10]
Hilleary received critical acclaim throughout his career.[11] Early in his career, the art critic Barbara Rose lauded Hilleary's "assured geometric abstractions" in an article in Artforum magazine, while The Washingtonian called his work "particularly promising".[12] Late in his career, the prominent art critic and professor Donald Kuspit described Hilleary as a "master of color".[13] And Washington Post art critic Paul Richard said that Hilleary was "admired enthusiastically by some of the smartest art minds in town."[14]
Hilleary "is best known for his commitment to creating harmonious, expertly executed canvases in variations of a signature style."[2] His signature style revolved around his "interest[] in patterns as well as colors—patterns not simply as decorative displays of color, but as on intricate arrangement of what the Futurists called lines of force."[13] Despite the centrality of lines and angles to his work, though, Hilleary has been described as a Lyrical Abstractionist artist.[6] That description may reflect the evolution of his art. Washington Post art critic Benjamin Forgey observed that Hilleary "at first adopted the then-reigning hard-edge format utilizing relatively subdued optical color combinations" but over time his work evolved to show a "gradual release of lyrical energies, in which softer colors and thin, translucent overlays of paint have been added to the logical structure of interlocking vertical and diagonal stripes."[15]
James Hilleary in his Studio with one of his Reflections Series works
Hilleary's work is also found in important private collections across the globe, including the collection of prominent art historian Linda Nochlin.[16]
Hilleary has been the subject of three major retrospectives:
James Hilleary: Painting Retrospective at Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC (November 1, 2003)[17]
James Hilleary: A Retrospective at Peyton-Wright Gallery in Santa Fe (July 2012)[18]
Modernism: James Hilleary and Color at the University of Maryland University College, an exhibition which included a full-day symposium on his work (December 2012).
Bibliography
Art Forum Magazine: "Washington Scene" (November 1967) ("...Other works worth mentioning were James Hilleary's assured geometric abstraction....")
Art Forum Magazine: "Gloom on the Potomac" by Joanna Eagle, Washington Editor (1968)
Washington Star: "Washington's Artists: A Personal Choice" by Benjamin Forgey, reviewing "Loan Exhibition of Washington Artists" at the Phillips Collection (April 6, 1968)
Washington Daily News: "Pianist-Architect Unbalances Stripes," reviewing Hilleary's solo exhibition at Henri Gallery (April 10, 1968)
Washington Star: "ART: Harmonious Paintings" by Benjamin Forgey reviewing a group show at Studio Gallery (March 1, 1970)
Washington Star: "ART: Somehow, it Just Doesn't Seem Enough", a review by Benjamin Forgey of Hilleary's exhibition at Studio Gallery (December 5, 1971)
Washington Star-News: "Art Gallery Roundup: More Abstractions Than Excitement" by Benjamin Forgey (April 7, 1974)
Washington Post: "Galleries" by Paul Richard (April 12, 1976)
Washington Post: "James Hilleary" by Benjamin Forgey (February 12, 1978)
Washington Times Magazine: "James Hilleary: A Colorist of Formidable Ability Plays Dual Role as Both Artist and Architect" (a lengthy cover article in the Washington Times Magazine regarding Hilleary) (December 6, 1985)
Washington Post: "Critics' Picks / Art" review (June 4, 1989)
Art in America: "James Hilleary at Gregory" by David Ebony (November 1, 1996)
Georgetowner: "James Hilleary at Susan Conway Gallery" review by Georgia Shallcross (reviewing an exhibition of Hilleary's Petal Series at the Susan Conway Gallery) (April 10, 1997)
Washington Post: "Strathmore Reopens" (September 10, 1997)
Washington Post: "Color School Graduate" review by Ferdinand Protzman (October 9, 1997)
Washington Post: "Deck the Walls at Susan Conway" by Ferdinand Protzman (December 9, 1999)
^ abWashington Times Magazine: "James Hilleary: A Colorist of Formidable Ability Plays Dual Role as Both Artist and Architect" review (1985)
^Washington Post: "Color School Graduate" by Ferdinand Protzman (1997)
^Washington Post: "Strathmore Reopens" (1997) ("A member of the Washington Color School whose abstractionists include Gene Davis, Tom Downing and Harold Mehring, Hilleary stains unprimed canvas with magna, the first oil-based acrylic paint")
^Washington Star: "ART: Somehow, it Just Doesn't Seem Enough" by Benjamin Forgey (December 5, 1971)
^In fact, "Hilleary grew up a Washington Color Painter before there was such a thing." He was doing the same sort of work as the seminal Washington Color School painters were doing, but he was working entirely independently and unaware of the work of those other artists. James Hilleary: Painting Retrospective at Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC (November 1, 2003).
^Langer, Emily (April 23, 2014). "James Hilleary, Noted Washington Artist, Dies at 90". The Washington Post. ProQuest1518215858.
^Potomac Current: "A One Man Show" regarding Hilleary show at Studio Gallery in Washington, DC (1971)
^ abJames Hilleary: Painting Retrospective at Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC (November 1, 2003)
^Langer, Emily (April 23, 2014). "Noted Painter Embraced Washington Color School". The Washington Post. ProQuest1518215663.
^ abcWashington Post: "James Hilleary" by Benjamin Forgey (February 12, 1978)
^Washington Star: "ART: Harmonious Paintings" by Benjamin Forgey (1970)
^Washington Post: "At the Phillips" by Paul Richard
^New York Times: "What's New in Art," Galleries Listing noting the opening of "2 from Washington" at the A.M. Sachs gallery, featuring works by Hilleary and Kenneth Young.
^Washington Daily News: "Pianist-Architect Unbalances Stripes" review of Hilleary show at Henri Gallery (April 1968)
^Washington Star: Exhibition Listing entry for Hilleary show at Henri Gallery, Washington, DC (April 1968)
^Washington Star-News: "Art Gallery Roundup: More Abstractions Than Excitement" by Benjamin Forgey (1974) ("James Hilleary is an architect and painter who has worked for a decade or so in the mode of the color school. His painting has been distinguished by a refined color sensibility and crisp, rational
design")
^Washington Post: "Galleries" by Paul Richard (April 1976)
^Washington Post: "Galleries" review of "Paintings by Jim Hilleary" at Barbara Fiedler, Washington, DC (1979)
