| Robert L. Rainey | ||
| Birth Date: December 25, 1914 |
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| Death Date: 2002 Artist Gallery |
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| Color, painting and drawing were Rainey’s life. He was hired as an art director of Huffman & Co. (Ad Scribe Advertising Agency) working as an Art Instructor here at the Museum to becoming the Director of the Little Art Gallery in North Canton.
Robert Rainey met his wife, ceramic artist, Herta Rainey while walking on his hands. The two were students at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1930s. Between classes, students would gather in a campus courtyard – as the young artist would walk around on his hands.
“I thought that was so ridiculous, Herta said, laughing at the memory. For a long time, I held that against him strongly."
Born in Jackson, Mississippi on Christmas Day in 1914, the young artist lived in several southern states before coming with his family to Chicago at the age of six. During high school, Rainey earned money painting signs. He was a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago, attending both schools at the same time for 5 years.
Rainey specialized in rural and urban scenes in the Midwest characterized by very strong color. Shortly before his death, when asked by a clergyman to describe what he believed in, Rainey replied, “Color.” He was a colorful man often incorporating found objects into his work. He combined graphics fabrics with paints and lace – old spools with plastics and paint. Always seeking, discovering new avenues – Rainey was convinced that art and the artists have an important place in our lives.
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