Arthur Holman
American,
(1926–2015)
Post War California artist.
Arthur Stearns Holman was born on October 25, 1926 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma to the late Newton and Barbara Hendry Holman. He grew up in the Chicago area, enrolled at the University of Illinois, then served stateside in the army during World War II. After the war, he earned a BFA in Art at the University of New Mexico in 1951. That summer he studied under Hans Hofmann in Massachusetts and then attended the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Art came to Marin County in 1953, first to Sausalito and then to the San Geronimo Valley, where he resided in Lagunitas for almost fifty years. He made his entire living from painting, drawing, and sculpting, and worked at his passion virtually every day. Much of the inspiration for his art came while hiking with friends.
In addition to private collections, his work has been displayed in The Whitney, The Smithsonian, The DeYoung, and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Another important part of Art's life consisted of helping people. An active and proud member of A.A. since the age of fifty, he ventured to San Quentin prison every month, where he volunteered his time working with inmates who had alcohol-related issues at the time of their arrests.