ALICE ASMAR (1929 - )

     Born in Flint, Michigan of Lebanese and Greek descent. Her parents moved to Portland, Oregon when she was just a baby. She started Drawing and painting at a very early age. Alice was considered a child prodigy, she was winning awards and recognition before the age of 10. The artwork of her early years was inspired by the splendors of nature, from the inscrutable pines and ancient sculptured rocks along the Oregon Coast to the mysterious ocean mists.

      Alice grew up an only child in a sensitive and creative environment. One of her earliest memories was of tracing with her fingers the fascinating patterns in the oriental rugs that her parents had brought with them when they left Lebanon for America.

      She Graduated magna cum laude from Lewis and Clark College in Portland and Obtained her Master's of Fine Arts Degree at The University of Washington in Seattle. Soon after graduating she accepted a job as an engineering drafter at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle. Her Assignment was clearing top secret drawing for air-to-ground missile. Alice worked for Boeing for less than a year. They offered her an engineering scholarship but she decided to go back to the art she loved doing from she was a child.

      In 1954, Alice received her teaching certificate from the University of Washington after which she taught art at Lewis & Clark from 1955 to 1958.

      After studying and traveling throughout the Near East, France, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Turkey, The Greek Islands, Greece and Lebanon, Asmar set up studios in California, New Mexico and Oregon. Today, She works in an 800-square-foot studio that she designed with four skylights and is located behind her home in Burbank, California.

      Combining her inspiration from nature and with a deep respect for native American culture, her work evolved into Southwestern themes of Indian Ceremonial Dance-Dramas, Indian portraits and landscapes.
     
     A master of many media, Asmar is distinguished for her many techniques which include paintings in Oil, casein and Acrylic, drawing in ink, pencil and pastel, collage, tapestry, books, lithography, etching, Engraving on metal on plexiglas, portraits, murals and banners. Her hand engraving of innovative designs for dinner and household wares for Nambe Mills in Santa Fe is recognized internationally.

    Alice Asmar's works are in several hundred public and private collections in the United States and Europe, including the Smithsonian Institution, Franklin Mint, Portland Art Museum, Gene Autry Hotel in Palm Springs, Security Pacific International Bank of New York, The Public Art Museum of Gabrova, Bulgaria, kaiser-Permanente, and the Dr. Nicholas Townell collection in Angus, Scotland. 


Additional Info:

Studied with Edward Melcarth & Archipenko, University of Washington, MFA.
Work: National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institute, Washington. Los Angeles City-Scape at sunset (Mural), Commissioned by Dr. Walter jayasinghe, 66; Painting of doves, Bangs Manufacturing Co, Burbank
Exhibitions: Seattle Art Museum. Museum of Science & Industry, Los Angeles.
Circle Gallery Ltd, Houston, Abbot Hall Gallery, William Temple House, Portland Oregon. Nambe Mills, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sr Eye Art Gallery, Long Beach. Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge, California.Sun Cities Art Museum, Arizona. Audubon Art Exhibit, Portland Oregon.Walt Disney Art Auction Burbank California.