Michael Dailey

Michael Dailey was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1938. He received BA and MFA degrees from the University of Iowa and upon completing his masters, was offered a teaching position at the School of Art at the University of Washington where he served as a lecturer from 1963 to 1998. Dailey's paintings, often characterised as landscape-inspired abstractions, celebrate light, colour and form. He is regarded as a key member of the 'second generation' of Northwest artists, influenced by the sometimes mystical quality of work by noted 'Northwest School' artists Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan and Guy Anderson, who predated Dailey by a couple of decades. Dailey's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis in the 1970s eventually prompted him to shift from oil painting to acrylics to have less exposure to harsh chemicals. As MS limited his mobility, he also switched from 6-foot wide canvasses to easel-sized works but his late paintings still show a controlled and skilful blending of colour that sometimes makes it difficult for the observer to tell the medium. Dailey's work has been widely exhibited in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the United States. Among the public collections in which his work is included are the Museum of Modern Art, NYC, the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, the Seattle Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum and the University of Washington. Michael Dailey died in Washington on the 9th August 2009.