Adelphi, MD – University of Maryland University College (UMUC) will display the largest number of works by Maryland artist Joseph Sheppard during a three-exhibit "extravaganza" of his works in Maryland, beginning in November. The exhibition at UMUC will comprise 20 paintings and portraits, 13 drawings, and 11 sculptures, covering his 50 years as an artist.

The artist, born in Baltimore, Md., also resides in Pietrasanta, Italy, where his massive traveling exhibition, Joseph Sheppard: 50 Years of Art, opened in September 2001. UMUC has the state’s largest collection of art by Maryland artists, and three Joseph Sheppard works are in the university’s permanent collection.

"Over the past fifty years I have painted and sold nearly 2,000 paintings," said Sheppard. "I think perhaps out of those there were 20 that had special meaning to me as far as subject and composition. . . . These I will display at UMUC."

In addition to UMUC, portions of the traveling exhibition will be on display at two other Maryland venues simultaneously this fall, including The Walters Art Museum (Nov. 10, 2003 – March 9, 2003) and the Evergreen House, The Johns Hopkins University (Nov. 14, 2002 – Jan. 26, 2003).

The artist will also take part in book signings, tutorial sessions for classes of art students, and personal appearances.

Media are invited to attend the opening reception of the UMUC exhibition, Sunday, Nov. 17, 3 – 5 p.m. at the university’s Inn and Conference Center, 3501 University Boulevard East, Adelphi, MD 20783. For an advance look at the exhibition, or to speak with the artist, contact Andrea Martino at 301.985.7779 or amartino@umuc.edu.

About the Artist

Joseph Sheppard was born in Owings Mills, Md., in 1930. From 1948 – 1952, he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where he studied with Jacques Maroger, the former technical director of the Louvre. Throughout his career, Sheppard has received many awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Traveling Fellowship to Europe in 1957. He was Artist-in-Residence at Dickenson College from 1955 – 1957 and, until 1975, taught drawing, anatomy, and painting at MICA.

Sheppard is internationally acclaimed for his vibrant paintings, drawings, and sculptures. His works are in many public and private collections in the United States and abroad, including those of the Butler Institute of American Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. The artist’s many books on anatomy, drawing, and paintings have been translated into French, German, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese. He has been commissioned to paint portraits of President George and first lady Barbara Bush, Baltimore mayor and governor William Donald Schaefer, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Cardinal William Keeler, among others. Sheppard was also commissioned to create Baltimore’s Holocaust Memorial sculpture in 1988.

The artist resides both in Pietrasanta, Italy, where he maintains a studio, and Baltimore.

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