Noel Rockmore

Noel Rockmore
1951 self-portrait, age 21, NYC
Born
Noel Montgomery Davis

(1928-12-15)December 15, 1928
DiedFebruary 19, 1995(1995-02-19) (aged 66)
NationalityAmerican
EducationArt Students League of New York
Known forPainter
MovementRealism
AwardsHallgarten Prize, Tiffany Fellowship, Ford Foundation Award
Patron(s)Joseph Hirshhorn, Vincent Price, George Wein, Jimmy Buffett

Noel Rockmore (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 1995) was born Noel Montgomery Davis to his mother, Gladys Rockmore Davis, and his father, Floyd Davis, in New York City.[1] Rockmore was an American painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. He claimed to have produced more than 15,000 works of art in his lifetime.[2] He is known for his portraits, his early rise to fame, his Preservation Hall portraits, and for changing his name at the height of the popularity he had developed in New York City and he had a daughter, Emilie Rhys [3]

Noel painted in a realistic and old masters style throughout his childhood and adolescence. He experimented with different artistic theories, techniques, and ideas in the New York art world of the 1950s.[1]

As the abstract expressionist movement gained momentum, Rockmore left New York and went to New Orleans, where he changed his name from Noel Davis to Noel Rockmore, adopting the surname of his mother. He spent the next 20 years commuting between New Orleans and New York City while various dealers tried unsuccessfully to manage him and his often volatile career.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Rockmore, Noel, The World of Noel Rockmore, Published by Greer Gallery, New York, 1967, ASIN B0007F9S4M
  2. ^ Lutter, Neil, "Rockmore's diverse art defies definition", news article published by Clarion Ledger - Jackson, MS, January 14, 1990
  3. ^ "New Orleans Music Observed: The Art of Noel Rockmore and Emilie Rhys – the Syncopated Times".