BIOGRAPHY

Michael Gallagher was born in Los Angeles, California in 1945 and set out to pursue an extensive education in fine arts. In 1968, he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and in 1970, he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art & Architecture, along with the Eli Harwood Schless Memorial Award for Drawing & Painting. During his time at Yale, he studied under the guidance of renowned faculty including Jack Tworkov, Josef Albers, Robert Motherwell, Walker Evans, William Baily, Lester Johnson, Barbara Rose, and Al Held, whose methodologies and passion for teaching inspired his lifelong love for art. 

He received a fellowship to attend Yale University’s Summer School of Music and Art in Norfolk, Connecticut, and also completed courses at the University of California at Los Angeles, with the instruction of David Hockney, Alfred Leslie, Irving Petlin, and Tony Berlant. Presently, Mr. Gallagher resides and works in Orange County, California.

His artwork is showcased nationally and internationally. His paintings are included in permanent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY), Jewish Museum (New York, NY), Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington DC), The Byer Museum of the Arts (Evanston, IL), The Edwin Ulrich Museum (Wichita, KA), The Frederick Weisman Foundation (Beverly Hills, CA), The Wharton School of Business (Philadelphia, PA), The Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University (Ithaca, New York), and Union College Permanent Collection (Schenectady, NY).