Portrait painter
20th century artist
About the artist
Eugene Montgomery, a painter, illustrator and muralist was born August 23, 1905 in Port Arthur, Texas. He began his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1924. He launched his career with commercial illustrations for magazine advertisements.
Montgomery gained national recognition for the expansive murals he painted for Sears Company in multiple states between 1939 to 1962. Each mural with a length of one hundred fifty to two hundred feet depicted scenes from the location’s history. He also painted a mural for Allstate Insurance in the 1950’s that reflected the history of the automobile age. One of his murals painted for a Sears store in Charlotte, NC has been preserved and is hanging in the library at Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte.
Montgomery was commissioned to paint portraits of numerous chairpersons and executives for multiple corporations including Sears Roebuck, Motorola, Allstate, G.E. as well as hospital and university presidents. His most widely viewed portrait is that of University of Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne painted in the 1930’s. Several of his portrait paintings hang in Evanston Hospital in Illinois.
The artist has been bestowed several awards throughout his career. The most prestigious being a Municipal Art League award from the Art Institute in 1941 for his painting “Sharon at Twelve”. Subsequently, that painting was produced into a poster that hung on the front of the Art Institute. He also reflected his talent as a 20th century painter with his works in multiple mediums capturing the essence of life in America that included different styles reflecting unique idealism of art.
Eugene Montgomery painted at his studio in Evanston, Illinois for sixty-five years He passed away on December 16, 2001 at the age of 96. His contributions are significant to the arts as a 20th century artist.
Montgomery gained national recognition for the expansive murals he painted for Sears Company in multiple states between 1939 to 1962. Each mural with a length of one hundred fifty to two hundred feet depicted scenes from the location’s history. He also painted a mural for Allstate Insurance in the 1950’s that reflected the history of the automobile age. One of his murals painted for a Sears store in Charlotte, NC has been preserved and is hanging in the library at Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte.
Montgomery was commissioned to paint portraits of numerous chairpersons and executives for multiple corporations including Sears Roebuck, Motorola, Allstate, G.E. as well as hospital and university presidents. His most widely viewed portrait is that of University of Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne painted in the 1930’s. Several of his portrait paintings hang in Evanston Hospital in Illinois.
The artist has been bestowed several awards throughout his career. The most prestigious being a Municipal Art League award from the Art Institute in 1941 for his painting “Sharon at Twelve”. Subsequently, that painting was produced into a poster that hung on the front of the Art Institute. He also reflected his talent as a 20th century painter with his works in multiple mediums capturing the essence of life in America that included different styles reflecting unique idealism of art.
Eugene Montgomery painted at his studio in Evanston, Illinois for sixty-five years He passed away on December 16, 2001 at the age of 96. His contributions are significant to the arts as a 20th century artist.
Last self portrait - 1998. - painted with pallet knife.
