This section of Skill-Based Art: A Learning Resource for Art Students & Artist-Teachers (SBA)™ is focused on preserving the legacy of the 20th century Minnesotan artist-teacher, Richard Frederick Lack (1928 - 2009).
Mr. Lack was largely responsible for the dissemination and preservation of pre-twentieth century drawing and painting processes and ideologies in the West. Traditional realist artists who trained in America between 1969 and 2009 would most likely have been subject to Mr. Lack’s influence; be it through his painting, teaching or writings. Mr. Lack’s body of knowledge was developed through a lineage of painter’s that harken back to the Parisian academies and ateliers of the nineteenth century. The highest standards of academic draughtsmanship of this period, combined with the truthfulness of observed colour and atmosphere of the twentieth century Boston impressionists (Mr. Lack was trained by Boston artist R.H. Ives Gammell) formulated the ethos for a dual tradition that he called Classical Realism.
Throughout his life, Mr. Lack would come to pass on his knowledge through his painting, teaching and writings, to a multitude of artists who shared his love of technical excellence and his yearning for a conservative, traditionalist sensibility. Many of these artists were inevitably touched by Mr. Lack’s deep obligation to teach and in turn, have gone on to open teaching studios of their own, where they continue to train artists in the classical traditions of drawing and painting in perpetuity. Due to Mr. Lack’s impact on the contemporary continuance of traditional drawing and painting practices, proponents of the realist tradition today consider him “the father of the contemporary atelier movement.”
To the modernist and contemporary art authorities, Mr. Lack was considered a nonconformist; an outlander that walked his own path and accrued a strong following of artists that trailed his footsteps towards mastery of technique and meaning. However, to the people who knew him best, he is remembered as a loving husband and father, a remarkable artist-teacher, a loyal friend and a man with a tremendous heart.
This content includes a range of photographs, interviews, panel discussions and recorded video events that feature Mr. Lack and many of the students who trained with him throughout his life. Through these documents, we are able to gain a sense of the impact that Mr. Lack had on the history of 20th century art and the lives he impacted through his painting and teaching.
