Morgan Monceaux:
THE PRESIDENTS
United States Presidents: 1st President George Washington, 44th President Barack Obama
New Door Creative Gallery exhibits selected works from The Presidents, a series of presidential portraits by the internationally acclaimed mixed-media artist, Morgan Monceaux.
The late Morgan Monceaux (1955-2017), a truly visionary artist and history buff, is perhaps best known for his portrait depictions of political and cultural figures. His passion and creative expression take form through the development of the character series. These series are devoted to the untold stories of human endeavor.
Monceaux introduced his first portrait series of every United States president - GEORGE TO GEORGE – in 1991. The collection of this elite fraternity grew to include President William Clinton and concludes with President Barack Obama. Featured in the 1992 New Yorker magazine article “Hail to the Chiefs”, writer Adam Gopnik described the series as a 'unique meditation on American history.'
The subjects of Monceaux’s character series are meticulously researched and explored. The Presidents portraits are embellished with a variety of material detail such as campaign buttons, ribbons, fragments of plastic, wood, and leather; reclaimed from obsolescence and fashioned for artistic and metaphoric intent. Exhibitions of Monceaux’s Presidents have been hosted by the Ford, Nixon, and Carter Presidential Libraries. The entire collection of The Presidents and their spouses was exhibited at Reagan National Airport in January 2013.
Other portrait series followed, and include The First Ladies (Presidential Wives), The Royals (International Royalty), Jazz Innovators (Great Jazz and Blues Musicians), Divas (African American opera divas, and ShadowBall (the story of Negro League Baseball). Monceaux’s Jazz Innovators portraits of Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, and B.B. King are included in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D. C.