Keith Boyle

Born 1930

An important early influence in the work of Keith Boyle was a teacher in high school in Ohio, who set up an art "major" for interested students. He later attended Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at University of Iowa.

Keith taught drawing and painting at Stanford from 1962 -1988 where he enjoyed advising the 3 or 4 graduate students allowed in the program each year. As a professor of art he kept a large painting studio on campus at Stanford and showed in numerous exhibitions in California during this time.

In 1981 he earned an individual artist grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

His paintings are in the San Francisco MOMA and numerous collections. Boyle's major influences are Henri Matisse, Clyfford Still, and Richard Diebenkorn. His artist statement states that he is primarily interested in space and color. Keith considers his work unencumbered by culture, theory, and criticism. When asked what his judgment criteria are for determining artistic merit, he said, "When the painting convinces me that it's real, then it's good." He remarked that it is more from experiencing art than from academia.

Keith and his wife Beth moved to the Applegate area in southern Oregon drawn by the excellent theatre of Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He had a one-man exhibition at the Schneider Museum of Art in 1996 and served as co-curator of the Regional Perspectives Exhibition. Keith has lived in Oregon for 16 years. Although he no longer paints due to a stroke suffered 5 years ago, he draws regularly.

Keith Boyle has taught at Lake Forest College, Barat College, Sacramento State and Stanford University. His paintings are often considered the hallmark of Bay Area color abstractions.

His work is represented in many important collections and has been exhibited in many outstanding national and international shows.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwich Collection hold one of his paintings in their permanent collection, titled “Orange Inside Out.”