Henry Wingate began his training as a painter at the age of 28, after having served six years as a pilot in the Navy. From an early age he showed an interest in drawing and would have begun his formal study of painting on finishing high school had he found a college or studio that offered training in the traditional representational art that appealed to him. At that time, in the mid 1980's, modern art seemed to be completely dominant in college art departments, and Wingate chose another route. He received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated from Annapolis with a degree in History in 1988. He went on to flight school and ended up as an F-14 pilot stationed at Oceana, Virginia, and on board the USS Kennedy.

The six years in the Navy gave Wingate something of a late start toward his real career, the one he knew he would follow after the flying was over. On leaving the Navy, he discovered that there was a small group of ateliers, or working studios, teaching painting in the representational style that he had always loved. In 1994 he moved to Boston to study with Paul Ingbretson. He spent five years in the Ingbretson atelier and then added two short stints with another teacher from the same tradition, Charles Cecil, in Florence, Italy. Both Ingbretson and Cecil studied under Ives Gammell, the teacher, writer, and painter who kept the traditional atelier method of painting instruction alive, which formed a link back to the Paris ateliers of the 19th century. Gammell had been a student of the Boston painter, William Paxton, who, in turn, had studied at the Paris atelier of Gerome.

Now, pleased to be part of this tradition, Wingate has his studio in rural Madison, Virginia. He lives with his wife Mary and their seven children in nearby Front Royal. He paints portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes, as well as larger figurative works.

Wingate has won numerous awards, including First Prize in the American Society of Portrait Artists 2000 competition, the Gold Medal of Honor at the 2003 Hudson Valley Art Association annual exhibition, and the Best Painting from Life Award of the National Oil & Acrylic Painters' Society in 2003. His work was featured in the 2006 issue of Portrait Highlights and as the cover article in the November, 2002, issue of American Artist.

Painting Trips to Italy

In 2007 Henry Wingate was awarded an Elizabeth Greenshields Grant to further his studies in traditional art. He decided to use the grant as a chance to study in Rome. This is the city where the Prix de Rome winners were sent for years of study as a way to finish their time of training as painters, sculptors, or architects. Wingate spent three months in Rome and another month painting landscapes in a tiny village in the mountains of northern Tuscany. In Rome he drew from antique sculptures in the Vatican Museums, the Spada Gallery, and in the Palazzo Altemps. He also drew from Renaissance paintings, both fresco and oil. He was also given permission to paint a copy of the Velazquez portrait of Pope Innocent X that is in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. He spent seven days painting this copy in the museum.

The art critic, Royal Cortissoz, has written an essay about the importance of Rome as a "finishing school" for artists. It can be found as a chapter, "The American Academy in Rome" in the book American Artists, published in 1923 by Charles Scribner's Sons. He speaks of Rome as giving the artist the "opportunity to live in contact with masterpieces and so to fertilize their imaginations," and to the artist Rome meant "inspiration, beauty." It was just these that Henry Wingate hoped to acquire with this time spent in Rome.

In 2012 Henry Wingate made another extended painting trip to Italy with a short excursion into Switzerland. This trip lasted four months and consisted mostly of landscape drawing and painting. Approximately twenty drawings and twenty paintings were executed during this trip. The month of May was spent in the small, hill-top Umbrian town of Todi. Following this the artist spent fourteen days drawing and painting in Venice. Two months were spent in a village in northern Tuscany near Pontremoli. From there trips were made to Parma, Milan, and Lugano, Switzerland. Ten days were spent there painting the mountains and lake. The final several weeks were spent in Florence. The entire trip was very productive artistically.

Henry & Family in Italy          Henry & Family in Italy

 

AWARDS

     

2012

Art Renewal Center Salon

Honorable Mention

     

2012

Fourth Nationwide Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition

Honorable Mention

 

 

 

2006

Portrait Society of Atlanta.

Fall 2006 Exhibition.

 

Bethany.

First Place and Members’ Choice Award.

 

2006

Punta Gorda (Florida) Arts Center.

5th Biennial national Exhibition.

 

Miss Annie

. The Strand Excellence in Art Award

 

2006

Artist’s Magazine.

23rd Annual Art Competition.

 

The Artist’s Father.

Finalist in Portrait & Figure.

 

2005

American Artists Professional League.

77th Annual Exhibition.

 

Lauren Anderson

The John R. Grabach Memorial Award for Oil Painting.

 

2005

Hudson Valley Art Association.

74th Annual Exhibition.

 

Miss Annie.

Frank and Marjorie Van Steen Memorial Award.

 

2004

Maryland Federation of Art.

Go Figure National Exhibition.

 

Masheed.

First Place.

 

2004

American Artists Professional League.

76th Annual Exhibition.

 

The Artist’s Father.

Helen G. Oehler Memorial Award.

 

2003

Art Renewal Center

1st International Salon Competition.

 

Mary Finalist.

Olga Finalist.

 

2003

Hudson Valley Art Association.

72nd Annual Exhibition.

 

Jordan.

Gold Medal of Honor for 2003 (Best in Show).

 

2003

American Artists Professional League.

75th Annual Exhibition.

 

Anne.

The John R. Grabach Memorial Award for Oil Painting.

 

2003

Audubon Artists.

61st Annual Exhibition.

 

Pierre Paulo.

Allied Artists of America Award.

 

2003

Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society.

Annual Exhibition, 2003.

 

Jordan.

Award for Best Painting from Life.

 

2003

Portrait Society of America.

Art of the Portrait Annual Exhibition.

 

Pierre Paulo.

Certificate of Recognition.

 

2002

American Artists Professional League, New York City.

74th Grand National Exhibition.

 

Edit.

John R. Grabach Memorial Award for Oil Painting.

 

2002

National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS).

Exhibit 2002.

 

Masheed.

Winsor & Newton Merit Award.

 

2002

Hudson Valley Art Association.

71st Annual Exhibition.

 

Nude with Ribbon.

Honorable Mention.

 

2002

Artist’s Magazine.

2002 Art competition.

 

Pierre Paulo.

Finalist.

 

2002

Academic Artists Association.

52nd Annual National Exhibition.

 

Nude with Mirror.

Honorable Mention.

 

2002

Portrait Society of Atlanta

Spring Exhibition.

 

Masheed.

Honorable Mention.

 

2001

American Artists Professional League, New York City.

73rd Grand National Exhibition.

 

Erin.

The Wilford S. Conrow Memorial Award.

 

2000

American Society of Portrait Artists.

Annual Portrait Arts Festival.

 

Olga

First Prize.

 

 

 

ARTICLES

2008

"The Training of an Artist" by Henry Wingate. Legenda, Spring, 2008. Pages 5-6.

2006

“A Disciplined Approach” by Linda M. Gosman and Stephen Doherty. Portrait Highlights, 2006. Pages 30-39.

2005

“From Pilot to Palette” by Richard Amrhine. Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 25,
2005. Page B6.

2003

“Artist of the Month: Henry Wingate” by Beth Derringer-Keith. Artist’s Magazine Online
Edition. December, 2003.

2002

“A Traditional Approach to Portraiture (Soaring to New Heights)” by Linda M. Gosman. American Artist. November, 2002. Pages 42-46, 77. Featured cover artist.

 

 

 

EXHIBITS

 

 

 

2012

Fourth Nationwide Juried Catholic Arts Exhibition, St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA November – December 2012

 
     

2008

"Exhibit of Paintings by Henry Wingate." The National Arts Club. New York, NY February--March, 2008.

 

 

 

2007-08

"Redeeming Beauty: Religious Works of Contemporary Artists" Traveling exibition, Wasington, D.C. and other sites. August 2007 through December 2008.

 

 

 

2006

Mid-Atlantic Artists Exhibit. Spartanburg (S.C.) Museum of Art.
February 27, 2006, through April 23, 2006.

 

2004

America Seen: Character in the American People and Landscape. An exhibition of paintings
at the Sage Center for the Arts, Hillsdale College, October 3 through November 19, 2004.

 

 

 

EDUCATION

 

 

 

1994-2000

INGBRETSON STUDIO OF DRAWING AND PAINTING

Manchester, N.H.

Studied with Paul Ingbretson for five years. Instruction based on traditions of the Boston School. Emphasis on figure drawing/painting and portraiture.

 

 

1999

ATELIER CECIL

Florence, Italy

Studied with Charles Cecil during the Winter, 1999, term. Emphasis on figure painting and portraiture.

 

 

1984-1988

U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY

Annapolis, Md.

Major in History

 

 

 

 

GRANTS

 

2007

Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant

   

MILITARY SERVICE

 

1988-1994

Naval Aviator

Pensacola, FL
Virginia Beach, VA

 

Flight School, 1988-90.
F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot at Oceana Naval Air Station and USS Kennedy.

 

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