I consider there to be two types of people who draw: those who draw compositions and those who draw objects. And you can trace this back to childhood. I was very much an object drawer, be it a train, a sailboat or a dinosaur. I didn’t think in terms of composition. When I started my art education, and especially in college, the idea of composition was emphasized, and drawing the object was looked down on. I became very conscious of thinking in terms of composition—I’d think, “I’ve got to address composition right from the beginning.” It’s now part of the way I work, creating a sort of light atmosphere.
"It’s now part of the way I work, creating a sort of light atmosphere."
FRED DALKEY
1943
Born in Sacramento, CA
EDUCATION
1969
M.A. in Fine Art (emphasis printmaking), California State University, Sacramento, CA
1966
B.A. in Fine Art, California State University, Sacramento, CA
TEACHING
1969–2010
Professor, Art Department, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
1972–73
Instructor, Art Department, California State University, Sacramento, CA
1969–71
Lecturer, Honors Department, California State University, Sacramento, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024
Illuminated Drawings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023
Twenty-Five Treasures Summer, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013
A Life of Looking: Fred Dalkey & Nathan Lewis, Knight Campus Gallery, Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI
2011
The Figure / The Still Life, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
The Church Series: A Project by Fred Dalkey, Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA
2008
Life Drawings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
Life Drawings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, New York, NY
2005
Time Extended: Recent Still Life Paintings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2003
Recent Paintings and Drawings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002
The Art of Fred Dalkey: Retrospective, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Life Class: Classroom Drawings, Gregory Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
AWARDS
2009
California Artist of the Year, California State Fair, Sacramento, CA
NISOD Achievement Award, University of Texas, Austin, TX
2006
Sacramento City College Emeriti Affiliates Faculty Achievement Award, Sacramento, CA
Honoree, Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA
2004
Paul and Margaret Bertelson Prize for Graphics, National Academy of Design, The One Hundred and Seventy-Ninth Annual Invitational Exhibition, National Academy Museum, New York, NY
Distinguished Service Award, California State University, Sacramento, CA
1992
Academy-Institute Award, American Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters, New York, NY
PUBLICATIONS
2010
Pardee, Hearne. “Fred Dalkey@CCAS”, Sacramento. Square Cylinder.com, October 16, 2010.
Reid, Dixie. “2 Jars, 6 Months, 54 Paintings.” Sacramento Bee, 1 October, 2010.
2009
Bischoff, Dave. “Now That’s Fine Art…,” Sacramento Bee, 28 August, 2009.
2008
Twenty-Five Treasures. San Francisco, CA: Paul Thiebaud Gallery, Fall 2008.
Feinstein, Lea. “Reviews: National. "Fred Dalkey: Paul Thiebaud, San Francisco.” Art News, September 2008, p. 156.
2007
Twenty-Five Treasures. San Francisco, CA: Paul Thiebaud Gallery, Fall 2007.
Brown, R.C. “Fred Dalkey.” The Village Voice, 30 May - 5 June.
Fred Dalkey: Life Drawings. Essay by Victoria Dalkey. Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2007.
2005
Twenty-Five Treasures. San Francisco, CA: Paul Thiebaud Gallery, Fall 2005.
"Artist Profile: Fred Dalkey." Lifescapes Magazine, December / January 2004/2005.
2004
The One Hundred and Seventy-Ninth Annual Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary American Art. New York, NY: National Academy of Design Museum, 2004.
2002
Couzens, Julia, et al. Fred Dalkey: Retrospective. California: Crocker Art Museum, 2002.