Joseph Meierhans

Some say that artists carry things too far, but we know that the world would stand still if no one ventured beyond the limits of the familiar.
-Joseph Meierhans

Joseph Meierhans first came to New York in 1917 to work for a Swiss textile mill. Already successful in the textile design field, he settled in the United States. After fifteen years in New York, he moved to Bucks County in 1932.

His early work was in watercolor and oil. He primarily painted landscapes, sketches of his native Switzerland, as well as American east coast scenery. His professional career as a textile designer led him to think more about texture and color. His later work became more abstract, eventually becoming his preferred style. He derived his inspiration as a painter from nature and scenes from everyday life. His work was strongly concerned with composition, form and color. He was also the owner and founder of Meierhans Gallery in 1956, which became a showplace for Delaware Valley artists.

Education and Training
Art Students League, New York, New York, 1919-1921
Study with A.N. and Tod Lindenmuth, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Study with Karl Knaths, Provincetown, Massachusetts

Teachers and Influences
John Sloan at Art Students League and Karl Knaths

Connection to Bucks County
Meierhans bought a mansion in Hagersville, (Bedminster Township), Bucks County, in 1932. He converted a 200 foot long chicken coop into a gallery where he held annual exhibitions of his own and other artists' work. In 1977, Meierhans and his wife moved to Murphy, North Carolina.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Gaston Longchamp, Sterling Spadea, George Trivellini, Vincent Ceglia, Katherine Steele Renninger, Bruce Katsiff

Major Solo Exhibitions
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Bennington College, New Hampshire
Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Joseph Meierhans (1890-1981): An American Modernist, Princeton Gallery of Fine Arts, Princeton, New Jersey, 1985
Artists' Gallery, New York, New York, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1955, 1958

Major Group Exhibitions
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Albany Museum of Arts, Albany, New York
Brown University Art Museum, Providence, Rhode Island
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York

Affiliations and Memberships
American Abstract Artists, member beginning in 1946
Founder and owner of Meierhans Gallery, 1956
Society of Independent Artists
Art Students League
Provincetown Art Association