Sydney Montague

Born in London, he studied at the Chelsea School of Fine Arts, moving to Canada in 1951 then to the United States in 1953. His fast and fiery, ambidextrous techniques for impressionism and abstracts, for which he has received numerous awards and acclaim. He founded the Anatomy of Art School, Buffalo, New York in 1961. In 1964, he moved to San Franc... isco to study at the College of the San Francisco Art Institute for his Masters of Fine Arts degree. Represented in the Following Collections: Theres a man named Sydney Montague now gathering material in California who is due back in our city any time now. There are those who regard him as an odd-ball, as are most spectacular artists. Most likely we do not agree with what he paints. But then, we all do not take to everything Pablo Picasso produces, or all of the carvings by Henry Moore. It could be that Montague may some day be recognized with these greats. It could be! But then thats up to the public. Montague was weaned on art in the Chelsea playpens of London. He painted before his first hair-cut, had bull sessions with the late Augustus John at the Six Bells, and found time and a corner in the British Navy during World War II to whip off portraits of his shipmates. his forte is as a fast and fiery painter of impressionistic water scenes. He works on a canvas without an apparent start or finish. It is during this warm-up -- collecting rags and oils and tuning the hi-fi -- that the canvas commences to reflect the image of days of meditation. It is not that he is a furious painter, though he may hold six brushes at one time, with left and right arms working ambidextrously ... it is that the image appears uncannily fast, without beginning or ending. The time for him to work on an impression is when beads of perspiration begin to trickle down his neck. Until then he sits out of the calm: becalmed, meditating, contemplating, looking, collecting, discarding the chaff. The his pulse quickens. It is the time! Speed is essential. The pace does not remain for long. Fifty ...Read More