ABOUT US

Michael Gallagher

My professional training led me into painting conservation, and eventually to my present role as Chairman of the Department of Paintings Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

However, I have made my own artwork for over forty years. Frequently, work commitments only permitted that to happen on vacation, and for a long time it was a private endeavor – just family and a few close friends aware that it is central to who I am. 

Living in the Hudson Valley since 2011 and beginning to exhibit and sell my work after 2017, following a solo show at Fairfield University, changed all that. 

Painting allows me to explore the landscape, seasons and weather patterns that move me, and communicate and share it all in the most direct way I know.

Mark Powell

It’s approaching a quarter century since I first started to accompany Michael when he went out to paint. In the beginning, I’d take a book and settle myself under a tree to read. It was never very comfortable so I would invariably end up discarding my novel and exploring the surroundings.

As we’d often be there for hours, I found myself taking the time to not simply look at the view but to look more closely and focus on what I found beautiful, stimulating, disconcerting or inspiring. With the aid of the camera lens, it wasn’t long before I began to visually edit the world that I encountered, concentrating on the details of ordinary things that often turned out to offer something extraordinary.

I believe everyone has the right to enjoy the exhilaration of discovery, and what better or more accessible way than to share it through photography.