Raoul Middleman (1935 – October 29, 2021) was an American painter known for his "provocatively prolific work--primarily traditional, including figure studies, landscapes, and still lifes--and for being a megawatt personality."[1] Middleman was a member of the Maryland Institute College of Art faculty from 1961 on.[2] In a 2009 Baltimore City Paper article Bret McCabe described Middleman's paintings as featuring "... expressive strokes, a tight control over an earthy palette, a romantic tone slightly offset by a penetrating eye —becomes distinctive even if you haven’t seen them before, so strongly does he articulate his old-fashioned sensibility in his works.” [1]
Raoul Middleman
Raoul Middleman, "Inside Out," 1983, oil on canvas
American University Museum at the Katzen Center described Middleman as a "Baltimore maestro [whose] nudes are not pretty—they are sagging, dimpled, and real. His cityscapes reveal the underbelly of post-industrial rot, his narrative paintings give contemporary life to his personal obsessions. They are intelligent, messy, and utterly masterful."[3]
Mike Guliano also writing in the Baltimore City Paper said ...."Other artists would look at the relatively undramatic landscape of this region and respond with quiet paintings, but Middleman sees all of nature as being animated. If anything, the countryside is so inherently full of life that animals, people, and buildings are usually no more than blips on the horizon." Giuliano continued on to say, "Middleman's theatrical and somewhat claustrophobic portraits remain firmly within a studio environment; when he goes to the country, people pretty much drop from the scene. It's as if the landscape itself is so completely exposed that placing a female nude out there would be redundant."[4]
The C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland, has represented Middleman since 1977.[6]
Troika Gallery Troika Gallery in Easton, Maryland, has represented Middleman since 1997. The owners/artists of Troika Gallery are closely associated with Raoul in both a personal and professional manner. Middleman died on October 29, 2021.[7]
Educationedit
1959
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Maryland University College, College Park, MD
Roger LaPelle Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
Troika Gallery, Easton, MD
1998
Ice Gallery, New York, NY
also 97, 96
1997
City Hall Galleries, Baltimore, MD
1994
Steven Scott Gallery, Baltimore, MD
1991
Jewish Community Center, Baltimore, MD
1989
Ingber Gallery, New York, NY
1988
Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Swanston Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA
1986
Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD
1985
Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY
also 81, 78, 75, 72, 69, 68
Kornbluth Gallery (with Wolf Kahn), Fair Lawn, NJ
1983
William Capro Gallery, New Bedford, MA
1982
The Water Gap Gallery, Walpack Center, NJ
1981
Boston University, Boston, MA
1980
Yale Summer School of Art, Norfolk, CT
Scott-McKennis Gallery, Richmond, VA
1974
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
also 63
1966
Krasner Gallery, New York, NY
Selected group exhibitionsedit
2007
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD “Summer ‘07”
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD “The Dialectic of Line”
2006
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD, “Summer Show”
2004
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD, “Narrative Visions, Works by: Grace Hartigan, Beverly McIver,
Raoul Middleman, George McNeil, Sangram Majumdar, David Rich, and Tony Shore”
1998
National Academy, New York, NY “173rd Annual Exhibition”
Ice Gallery, New York, NY
C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD “The Painterly Landscape”
1997
National Academy, New York, NY “172nd Annual Exhibition” [Benjamin Altman Prize]
1996
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY “Invitational Exhibition”
National Academy, New York, NY “171st Annual Exhibition”
The Art Museum at Florida International University, Miami, FL “American Art Today: Images from Abroad”
1994
National Academy, New York, NY “169th Annual Exhibition”
1993
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY “Invitational Exhibition”
1992
Artscape ‘92, Baltimore, MD “Masters, Mentors, and Makers” National Academy, New York, NY “167th Annual Exhibition”
1990
National Academy, New York, NY “165th Annual Exhibition” [Robert and Rochelle Philipp Prize]
University of Maryland, Baltimore County “A View from Baltimore to Washington”
1989
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD “The Landscape Observed”
Gaumann Cicchino Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL “The Landscape Revisited from Maine to Key West”
1988
The Art Museum at Florida International University, Miami, FL “American Art Today: Narrative Painting”
Norman and Sarah Brown Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Baltimore, MD “Invitation Exhibition (in honor of Israel’s 40th anniversary)” [First Prize]
Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD “Landscape: Three Perspectives” 1987 School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD “Three on Three: Hartigan, Leake, Middleman”
1986
Haus der Kunst, Munich “Das Automobil in der Kunst”
1985
W.C. Bradley Company, Columbus, GA “Contemporary American Realists” 1984 Artist's Choice Museum, New York, NY “The First Eight Years”
National Academy, New York, NY “159th Annual Exhibition”
Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Sparkill, NY “Primacy of Seeing”
1983
One Penn Plaza, New York, NY “New Landscape”
1982
Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ “Painterly Landscape”
William Capro Gallery, New Bedford, MA “The Artists’ Choice”
George Washington University, Washington, DC “The Painterly Vision”
Selected collectionsedit
American Broadcasting Company, New York, NY
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Frye Museum of Art, Seattle, WA
Hamline University, Saint Paul, MN
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
National Academy of Design, New York, NY
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Towson University, Towson, MD
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Selected awards and honorsedit
2003
Edwin Palmer Memorial Prize, National Academy of Design, New York, NY
2001
Artist In Residence, LMCC, World Trade Center, New York, NY
1998–2001
President, National Academy of Design, New York, NY
1997
Benjamin Altman Prize for Figure Painting, National Academy of Design, New York, NY
1990
Robert & Rochelle Philipp Prize, National Academy of Design, New York, NY [8]
Referencesedit
^ abMcCabe, Bret. "Pleasures of the Flesh." The Baltimore City Paper 8 April 2009. Print.
^Middleman, Raoul. "Your Wikipedia Page." Message to MacKenzie Peck. 8 May 2012. E-mail.
^American University Museum at the Katzen Center. "Raoul Middleman: City Limits." American.edu. American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.american.edu/cas/museum/gallery/raoul-middleman-city-limits.cfm>.
^Giuliano, Mike. "Wild World: Raoul Middleman's Raw, Reckless Recent Work at C. Grimaldis." The City Paper [Baltimore] 14 March 2001, Arts sec. Print.
^C. Grimaldis Gallery. RAOUL MIDDLEMAN Custer’s Last Stand & Other Painterly Obsessions. C. Grimaldis Gallery. C. Grimaldis Gallery. www.cgrimaldisgallery.com.
^Grimaldis, Constantine. Personal interview. 26 April 2012.
^"Longtime Boston Red Sox broadcaster, former player Jerry Remy dies of cancer". WCVB. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
^C. Grimaldis Gallery. "Raoul Middleman Resume." C. Grimaldis Gallery. Web. 26 April 2012. www.cgrimaldisgallery.com.
Suggested readingedit
Rasmussen, Jack, "City Limits" (Washington D.C. and Baltimore, American University Museum and C. Grimaldis Gallery, 2012) ISBN 978-1-61979-499-3.