This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Stephen Bagnell was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, January 4,
1930. As a young man he dreamed of becoming a cartoonist.
Growing up in a tumultuous family, however, he put his dream on hold
and instead ran away. Lying about his age, he joined the the Army
at the age of 16.
The stint in the Army provided him with a
government sponsored education of his choosing. He selected the
Art Students League of New York City, and became interested in pursuing
the fine arts.
He met and married Joyce Mahon at the age of 18
and became a parent at 20 years of age. Soon life became a
struggle. During those years, Stephen worked as a house painter,
spending all his spare hours painting, eventually finding his own
particular style.
He with his family, lived in Bergen and
Monmouth County, New Jersey and eventually moved to Columbia County,
Pennsylvania where he made his home for 24 years. His artwork was
generally sold in the New York, New Jersey area.
Stephen
Bagnell's work is often dark with many of his endless subjects
disfigured and disturbing; his landscapes are luminous. When he did
paint in pastels, the results were subtle yet vibrant. In all of
his work there is a feeling of familiarity; as if you know the person,
know the place.
Stephen painted only from imagination. His
inspiration came from people he would see or a place he would recall,
with his moods often reflected in the work. He was not one to
paint portraits or to paint from a photograph, but instead had an
ability to remember the nuances of a subject.
He worked in many
mediums; oils and acrylics being his favorite. Over his lifetime
he produced a considerable amount of sculptures as well. Early on
working in marble, experimenting in plaster, with wood and clay
eventually being his mainstay.
Bagnell was typical only in once
sense. Although his work was often shown in galleries and he
received many write-ups in art columns over the years, he like so many
others, was a struggling artist.
He spent all of his waking
hours for most his adult life on his artwork; he died of sepsis Feb. 7,
1996 at the age of 66. He is survived by his wife Joyce and 6 children.
Submitted July 2005 by Colette Eskin, daughter of the artist, whose source was the widow of the artist. |
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