Impressionist Joseph Dawley passed along the greatest legacy of all.
By: Jessica Loughery
In 2002, artist Cynthia Dawley bought her parents’ home in Cranford, where she had spent most of her life. When her parents moved out, she inherited many of their household items, including sofas, tables and chairs. She also inherited her father’s longtime painting studio.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Joseph Dawley was at the height of a prolific career as a traditional realist painter. He won many awards, including the Collins Portrait Award and the Salmagundi Award, and exhibited work in one-man shows across the country.
Then, in 1975, Mr. Dawley was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The illness took the expected toll on his body, but it also had an impact on his art. Having painted in the realist style for years, he came out of brain surgery in 1982 unable to paint the way he had for so long.
"He was devastated that he had lost his fine motor control," says his wife, Gloria Dawley. "It had been his understanding, erroneously, going into the surgery that if he survived, (he would be able to paint).
"We tried to get him to try (a different style) that did not require the finite control that the realism had," she continues. "It took a long time just to convince him to pick up a brush and put a stroke on a board or canvas. He ultimately was able to move into impressionism, but it took a long, long time."
The galleries that had represented Mr. Dawley accepted his new impressionist paintings unflinchingly, and works from both periods of his career continue to be sought out, purchased and collected.
The now famous story of Mr. Dawley’s move from realism to impressionism and its connection to his illness has been chronicled in multiple books and newspapers including The New York Times, and on several television programs including NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and EyeWitness News.
"I was 11 when my dad was diagnosed so he’s been sick all my life, and I’ve seen the progression," says Cynthia. Two months after her family’s move, she had yet to settle into the studio where her father had labored over so many treasured paintings.
"I knew in my heart, if anyone was going to take over, he’d want it to be me," she says. "But it was really a weird thing for me."
Like her father did until a few years ago, Cynthia paints impressionist works in oils on canvas. Both father and daughter are represented by The Artful Deposit gallery in Bordentown, where their work will be featured together for the first time in an exhibit titled Living Legacy: Cynthia A. Dawley and Joseph Dawley April 29 to May 31.
As natural as Cynthia’s career choice may seem, for many years, it was not the obvious path for her. She admits that she’s never even taken an art class.
"I had no interest in art as a child," she says. "I liked arts and crafts, but I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to do something if I can’t do it well. So you look at my father’s work… there was just no way I could compete with that."
Cynthia dabbled in business studies in college, then went to a technical school where she earned a degree in graphic arts. For a while, she worked as marketing manager for a greeting card line that used reproductions of paintings. When the company was sold, she went in a different, but familiar, direction.
Today, in addition to The Artful Deposit, Cynthia has work hanging at Designers Gallery in Clark and at the Framing Center and Fine Art Gallery in Cranford. Her paintings are vibrant with color, capturing a wide variety of subject matter. "I see a lot of artists that zone in on one thing and paint it over and over," she says. "I would get bored with that." At the moment, she says she has a few paintings going including a summer landscape, a scene at Bryant Park in New York City, and a river scene in San Antonio.
For the upcoming show, Cynthia has selected work from the last six months. Gloria Dawley and gallery owner C.J. Mugavero have selected 13 total Joseph Dawley paintings from a variety of periods in his career. Most will be impressionist works from the second period, 1984 to 2002, but there also will be one privately owned realist work up for resale. Gloria says this is one of the very few that are left to be sold.
"There are also four original comic strip panels that have been framed," she says. "Before he became a full-time artist, he had a very successful syndicated comic strip. His artwork finally became so successful and he couldn’t keep up both careers. So he dropped the comic strip to pursue fine arts."
Also included in the 13 are two paintings Mr. Dawley has completed in the nursing home he currently resides in, where they have set up an easel and paints for him.
"He’s unable to plan a painting and he doesn’t know colors, but intuitively he knows design and color," says Gloria. "He is creating these beautiful abstracts and we’re going to have two of those in the show."
Cynthia says there were times years ago when she and her father talked about doing a show together, but they agreed she had to be established enough. Since the beginning, she’s been well aware of how difficult it is to make herself stand out against such an established artist as a father.
"The fact of the matter is that my father’s and my work are compared, whether we want it to be or not," she says. "It’s who I am. I can’t deny that I’m his daughter."
And she doesn’t. "It’s inspirational to be in his studio," she says, and often uses his old supplies and looks at his notes. "We were like two ships that pass in the night," she says. "(The two careers) touched by the link of the studio; that’s the crossover."
The Living Legacy: Cynthia A. Dawley and Joseph Dawley will be on view at the The Artful Deposit, 201 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown, April 29-May 31. Gallery hours: Mon.-Tues. by chance or appt., Wed. and Sat. 1-6 p.m., Thurs.-Fri. 1-8 p.m., Sun. 1-5 p.m.; (609) 298-6970; www.theartfuldeposit.com. Cynthia Dawley on the Web: www.cadawley.com. Joseph Dawley on the Web: dawleygraphics.com

