Tribute to Elizabeth Gourlay (1961 - 2024)

Elizabeth Gourlay, a cherished artist, educator, and creative force, earned her MFA at Yale University School of Art and her BA from Edinburgh College of Art. Her work, recognized for its profound impact and meticulous execution, was exhibited extensively throughout the United States. She was honored with numerous residencies, fellowships, and awards, including the prestigious Artist in Residence at the studio of Sol LeWitt in Spoleto, Italy. Her artistic vision and contributions were celebrated in esteemed publications such as The New Criterion, Painters’ Table, and she was interviewed by Gorky’s Granddaughter.

Gourlay's art graced both national and international venues, including MASS MoCA, The National Academy and School of Fine Arts, the Cummings Arts Center at Connecticut College, the Hecksher Museum, the Widener Gallery at Trinity College, and the Drawing Center NYC. Her dedication to education was evident in her roles at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she taught 2D Design, Color Theory, and Painting and Abstraction in Continuing Education, and at The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, where she instructed courses in Abstract Painting and Color.

Elizabeth Gourlay’s paintings, renowned for their gradual and progressive meditations on color and form, continue to inspire. Her unique vocabulary of abstract marks—shapes and lines—resonate with inner emotional states, blending elements of feelings and subconscious thoughts with conscious deliberations on color, form, and geometric structure. In her hands, shifting bars, lines, and blocks of color on the picture plane became analogous to moving musical notes and chords around a score, creating harmonious and thought-provoking compositions.

Her legacy endures through her remarkable body of work and the countless lives she touched as an artist and teacher. Elizabeth Gourlay’s profound influence on the world of painting and her contributions to art education will be remembered and cherished.