Sheffield Kagy
Encyclopedia
Sheffield Harold Kagy was an American printmaker, who also worked with Everett Warner
to design US Navy camouflage during World War II.
Active as a printmaker in Cleveland in the 1930s, Sheffield Kagy specialized in block prints of contemporary scenes. Born and raised in Cleveland, he studied with Henry Keller
and Paul Travis
at the Cleveland School of Art and with Ernest Fiene
at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. In 1932 Kagy opened the short-lived Sheffield Studio School of Art in Cleveland, which offered basic art instruction taught by a faculty that included Kalman Kubinyi
. Kagy was one of only two Cleveland artists to make prints for the Public Works of Art Project
in 1934. He made several linoleum cuts and at least one lithograph for the Cleveland graphic arts project of the Works Progress Administration in 1936. Kagy was a vice president of the Cleveland Print Makers and showed his work in many local exhibitions including several May Shows (1931-41). He participated in annual print exhibitions in Chicago, Cleveland, and Dayton, and his work also appeared in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Venice, Italy. Kagy moved to Washington in 1936 and taught fine arts and printmaking at the Abbott Art School. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, 1937-40, and painted murals for post offices in Walterboro, South Carolina, and Luray, Virginia. Modeled on the Cleveland Print Makers, Kagy organized the Washington Print Maker's Club in 1940, whose members included Herman Maril
and Prentiss Taylor
. Kagy was head of the art department at Chevy Chase Junior College in Maryland, 1940-43, then served in the navy as a camouflage designer for the Bureau of Ships until 1945. After the war he became a professor of fine arts at the National Art School
, a post he held until 1956. He was an exhibition officer and designer for the State Department, 1959-73. Kagy died in Washington.
Everett Warner
Everett Longley Warner was an American Impressionist painter and printmaker, as well as a leading contributor to US Navy camouflage during both World Wars.-Early years:...
to design US Navy camouflage during World War II.
Active as a printmaker in Cleveland in the 1930s, Sheffield Kagy specialized in block prints of contemporary scenes. Born and raised in Cleveland, he studied with Henry Keller
Henry Keller
Henry George Keller was an American artist who led a generation of Ohio watercolor painters of the Cleveland School. Keller's students at the Cleveland School of Art and his Berlin Heights, Ohio summer school included Charles E. Burchfield, Paul Travis, and Frank N...
and Paul Travis
Paul Travis
Paul Bough Travis was an American artist of the Cleveland School....
at the Cleveland School of Art and with Ernest Fiene
Ernest Fiene
Ernest Fiene was a 20th-century American graphic artist who primarily worked in New York City and Woodstock, New York. Fiene was known primarily for his varied printed works, including lithographs and etchings...
at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. In 1932 Kagy opened the short-lived Sheffield Studio School of Art in Cleveland, which offered basic art instruction taught by a faculty that included Kalman Kubinyi
Kálmán Kubinyi
Kálmán Mátyás Béla Kubinyi was an influential etcher, engraver and enamelist and a member of the so-called Cleveland School, a number of relatively prominent artists in Northeast Ohio that existed from about 1910 to 1960.Kubinyi was a modernist whose interpretations of the machine age through “ash...
. Kagy was one of only two Cleveland artists to make prints for the Public Works of Art Project
Public Works of Art Project
The Public Works of Art Project was a program to employ artists, as part of the New Deal, during the Great Depression. It was the first such program, running from December 1933 to June 1934...
in 1934. He made several linoleum cuts and at least one lithograph for the Cleveland graphic arts project of the Works Progress Administration in 1936. Kagy was a vice president of the Cleveland Print Makers and showed his work in many local exhibitions including several May Shows (1931-41). He participated in annual print exhibitions in Chicago, Cleveland, and Dayton, and his work also appeared in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Venice, Italy. Kagy moved to Washington in 1936 and taught fine arts and printmaking at the Abbott Art School. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, 1937-40, and painted murals for post offices in Walterboro, South Carolina, and Luray, Virginia. Modeled on the Cleveland Print Makers, Kagy organized the Washington Print Maker's Club in 1940, whose members included Herman Maril
Herman Maril
Herman Maril was an artist and emeritus professor of painting at the University of Maryland.-Biography:Maril was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1908 and studied at the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts. He had 40 one-man exhibitions in his career with his first in 1935 at the Howard University...
and Prentiss Taylor
Prentiss Taylor
Prentiss Taylor was an American illustrator, lithographer, and painter. He was a strong figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Among his many friends from that era is Langston Hughes, whom Taylor illustrated many of his publications. Also among his close friends was the photographer Carl Van Vechten...
. Kagy was head of the art department at Chevy Chase Junior College in Maryland, 1940-43, then served in the navy as a camouflage designer for the Bureau of Ships until 1945. After the war he became a professor of fine arts at the National Art School
National Art School
The National Art School is an art school in Sydney, Australia. It is a Public Company Limited by Guarantee with a board of directors. It has Institutional Registration and Course Accreditation supported by the DET Higher Education Directorate....
, a post he held until 1956. He was an exhibition officer and designer for the State Department, 1959-73. Kagy died in Washington.