Allen Blagden is one of the most outstanding watercolorists of his time. He has isolated himself from the abstract Establishment, and, even though he has had 30 years of successful exhibits at major galleries, all with appreciative reviews, it can readily be seen that he deserves far more attention than he has received. Instead, bypassing major trends and tendencies of the moment, he has continued to share with us the beauty of his own individual visual interpretations.

Born into a family of outstanding artists, Alien Blagden has painted professionally since his early student days at Hotchkiss School in Northwest Connecticut where his artistic training began with his father.

Nearby is Salisbury, Connecticut, his home these many years which has been witness to and takes honor in his many accomplishments.

His penetrating renderings of sky and water, of people and landscapes fall within the academic traditions of American realist painting, best exemplified by Homer, Eakins, Wyeth and Hopper.

Nonetheless, throughout the years he has developed his own technique, which is to begin with a linear pencil drawing and to build up layer upon layer of watercolor. He prefers dry brush, working slowly, painstakingly, patiently, and with small brushstrokes, to create a richness of contrasts and textures, all

in faultless draughtsmanship.

His palette, captivating quiet tonalities of dawn and twilight, is a studied rejection of vivid color, rendering them into meticulous compositions of delicate, refined light and silent thoughts. In its austere and orderly

disposition of pictorial space, his work is clearly reminiscent of Whistler.

This is a tribute to an artist whose awards include. Allied Americian Artists, 1964; Century Association Award, 1970; National Academy of Design: Certificate of Merit, 1976.