George Allen Nama, renowned artist, influential teacher, and proud Montauk local for 55 years, has died. He was 86.
George Nama’s birthplace was Homestead, across the river from Pittsburgh, PA which in the early 1950s witnessed an intensely creative moment with a vibrant jazz scene. Nama was a keen recorder of this stimulating environment as one can see in his evocative cityscapes.
He studied at Carnegie Mellon University (CIT) with undergraduate and graduate degrees. In the 1960s Nama worked at William Stanley Hayter’s influential Atelier 17 in Paris, where he was part of an international artistic circle. In 1981 he was elected to the National Academy of Design, New York. He was an influential teacher of draftsmanship and printmaking, while continuing to develop his own abstract take on natural forms.
Already involved with poets and writers since the early 1960s, Nama collaborated in 1976 with his friend, the French poet and art historian Yves Bonnefoy. This in turn fostered a series of artists’ books and exhibitions with Alfred Brendel and Charles Simic. His latest work is The Liberator, a collaboration with his longtime friend, the late writer/director George Romero.
During his long career, Nama has been represented in numerous exhibitions, galleries and public collections, such as The Morgan Library, the Boston Athenaeum, The Metropolitan Museum, the Brooklyn Museum and the Carnegie Institute. He has also been included in the distinguished international art fairs at Maastricht and the Salon de Dessin in Paris.
George found a home and creative sanctuary in Montauk. He is survived by his loving partner, Chrisine Forrest Romero, who will miss him dearly.
George Nama’s final resting place will be in Fort Hill Cemetary, with his favorite view in the world.