Perhaps Marvin D. Mangus' most important and beloved painting mentor was Roger M. Rittase. He came up to Anchorage, Alaska in the late-sixties or early-seventies for a visit, but the joyous occasion and its highly-anticpated plein aire painting jaunts were marred because Roger was already suffering from profound and heartbreaking dementia. I grew up with Roger's atmospheric landscape paintings in our house and my father often spoke warmly of his friend and mentor. I grabbed these images and stats from the world-wide web.
Roger M. Rittase
Birth/Death
- 1899 (Littlestown, Pennsylvania)
- 1975 (Lebanon, Pennsylvania) United States
Methods
* Easel Painting
Media
* Oil Paint
Subjects
* Landscape
Associations
* Society of Washington Artists (DC)
Some Exhibitions
* Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
* Society of Washington Artists, DC
Schools
* Corcoran Gallery School of Art, Student
* Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Student
* School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Student
Added Description
* Art Educator: School Teaching, Public Lectures, Workshops
The great Roger M. Rittase, an artistic giant, to the Mangus family.
Please tell me how Roger Rittase's dementia impacted his visit to your father. My father-in-law was a Rittase cousin of his. I'm wondering if Roger's dementia symptoms were similar to those of other Rittase relatives.
ReplyDeleteI was very young when we saw Roger in about 1964 or so. I do not remember anything except the gold fish pound. Lead base oil paints effected some artists who left paint in unventilated rooms. Dad died of Parkinson’s disease which may be caused by exposures to certain chemicals. Dad switched to acrylic paints around 1970 as the dry faster.
DeleteWe have a Wikipedia site for Marvin Dale Mangus. We list Roger as mentor. Wikipedia severely edits out items. Roger,’s painting has been in the entrance stair wall since 1962. My email address is MangusAlf@aol.com
ReplyDelete