Alvin Loraine Gittins (17 January 1922 – 7 March 1981) was an English-born artist who was a professor at the University of Utah (U of U). He has been described as "one of [the United States] greatest portrait artists ever".[1]
Gittins was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. He attended art school in London. Gittins was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in England. He first came to the United States in 1946 and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1947. He was appointed a member of the U of U art faculty in 1947. From 1956 to 1962 Gittins was head of the U of U's art department.
Gittins painted 89 portraits of people connected with the U of U and at least one of his portraits hangs in almost every campus building. He focused heavily on the detail of human figures and sought to bring out his subjects feelings in his paintings. As a professor, Gittins was noted for insisting on intensive studies of anatomy and perspective at a time when most art programs focused on expressionist art.[citation needed]
alvin, gittins, alvin, loraine, gittins, january, 1922, march, 1981, english, born, artist, professor, university, utah, been, described, united, states, greatest, portrait, artists, ever, alvin, lorraine, gittinsborn, 1922, january, 1922kidderminster, england. Alvin Loraine Gittins 17 January 1922 7 March 1981 was an English born artist who was a professor at the University of Utah U of U He has been described as one of the United States greatest portrait artists ever 1 Alvin Lorraine GittinsBorn 1922 01 17 17 January 1922Kidderminster EnglandDied7 March 1981 1981 03 07 aged 59 SpouseGwendolen Ellis Contents 1 Life and career 2 Notes 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editGittins was born in Kidderminster Worcestershire England He attended art school in London Gittins was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints LDS Church in England He first came to the United States in 1946 and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1947 He was appointed a member of the U of U art faculty in 1947 From 1956 to 1962 Gittins was head of the U of U s art department Gittins painted 89 portraits of people connected with the U of U and at least one of his portraits hangs in almost every campus building He focused heavily on the detail of human figures and sought to bring out his subjects feelings in his paintings As a professor Gittins was noted for insisting on intensive studies of anatomy and perspective at a time when most art programs focused on expressionist art citation needed Among the many people Gittins painted portraits of were David O McKay Henry Eyring Maurice Abravanel and Haile Selassie I However not all of his subjects were living He also painted a portrait of Joseph Smith 2 which is a popular image of the LDS Church s founder 3 Work done by GIttins was exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Society of British Painters in London as well as at Portraits Inc in New York City citation needed Gittins married Gwendolen Ellis and they had four children 4 Notes edit bio of Gittens from bristleconegallery LDS Art info about Gittins portrait of Joseph Smith Utah Stories 21 September 2011 Joseph Smith Portrait by Alvin Gittins utahstories com Retrieved 26 August 2023 Deseret News Obituary for Christopher Gittins 17 January 1998References editUtah Artists Project Biography Alvin L Gittins University of Utah Marriott Library archived from the original on 18 November 2008 Oman Richard G 1992 Artists Visual in Ludlow Daniel H ed Encyclopedia of Mormonism New York Macmillan Publishing pp 70 73 ISBN 0 02 879602 0 OCLC 24502140 Alvin Gittins State of Utah Collections Utah Division of Arts amp Museums Marion Linda Fall 2001 Perfect North Light University Continuum University of Utah archived from the original on 10 June 2010 retrieved 3 September 2009External links editAlvin L Gittins Photograph Collection at the University of Utah Marriott Library Special Collections The Alvin L Gittins Papers at the University of Utah Marriott Library Special Collections Alvin L Gittins Utah Artists Project University of Utah Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alvin Gittins amp oldid 1197466666, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
