CHARLES
MOVALLI
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CHARLES MOVALLI of Gloucester, Massachusetts was presented the Hudson Valley Art Association's highest honor by its Board of Directors for his outstanding, outreaching dedication to the preservation and expression of art.
A strong believer in his principles, Movalli spent his life-time "spreading the word" as a writer, teacher, and painter. Above all, his many short articles furthered the careers of those he showcased. Charles' career was an attempt to answer a basic question posed by Claude Croney, AWS:
1946-2016
Are you a teacher who paints or a painter who teaches? Which comes first:
the work itself, or teaching students? While the two are not mutually exclusive,
Movalli always felt, even when at his busiest as a teacher that the work came first. The working life of Charles Movalli is a fitting answer to this question. Born and raised in the traditional art colony of Gloucester, Massachusetts, young Charles was encouraged to paint by his artist-mother, Charlotte who herself worked in pastel and watercolor with a specialty in painting flowers. His father, Alfred, was the son of a sculptor and had a great interest in art.
Movalli's early nurturing was furthered by frequent visits to Gloucester's Sawyer Free Library, which had an unusually rich collection of art books. Here, Movalli discovered Frank Lloyd Wright who soon became the teenager's life-long hero. Movalli greatly admired the architect's disciplined, well organized mind -- the basic tool for any kind of artistic execution. Inspired to become an architect, Movalli became an English major on the advice of his school advisors and he turned to liberal arts.
After this education, Movalli tried to find editorial work. Don Holden, at the helm of Watson-Guptill, became Movalli's first "padrone". Holden gave Movalli his first non-academic assignment: working with Roger Curtis on a series of art instruction books. Movalli was also attending art demonstrations by Emile Gruppé (HVAA tribute 1972). Holden again saw the potential for another useful art collaboration and this project led to a series of four titles. The books are now collector's items and they formed the basis for a lasting friendship between Movalli and Gruppé, who was fifty years his senior.
Movalli edited the three Gruppé books: Gruppé on Painting, Brush Work; Gruppé on Color; and Brushwork for the Oil Painter. Movalli also wrote a historical introduction to Hunt's On Painting and Drawing and books with Croney, Betty Lou Sehlemm (translated into Japanese) and Paul Strisik (HVAA Bargaining - Oil tribute 1982).