Biography

After graduation from Milton (Mass.) High School in 1949, Harold Crowley attended the Massachusetts School of Arts (now Mass. College of Art and Design) graduating in 1953 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Painting and Illustration. He studied painting under Patrick Gavin, Lawrence Kupferman and Otis Philbrick.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army in December, 1953 and served as a Draftsman/Illustrator in H.Q., 8th Army, Seoul, Korea. His first job after the service was as an advertising artist for the old Raymond’s Department Store in on Washington Street in downtown Boston. He was accepted into the third year at the Boston Museum School (now part of Tufts University) in September 1956. At the Museum School, he majored in painting, studying under Arthur Polonsky, Jan Cox and Henry Schwartz. He graduated with a diploma in 1958 and then went on to complete a year of graduate work.

Harold was recruited to work as an Artist-Photographer for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health starting in July 1958. For the State, he worked on publications, posters and photographic documentation of hospitals, institutions and other facilities. Harold’s art adorned many State publications including the Drivers’ License Manual for many years. Eventually, he completed 34-years of service with Commonwealth before accepting early retirement in 1992.

He had two One-person shows at the Lighting Group Gallery in New York City in 1960-1961 and 1962 showing oil paintings and drawings and he was included in group shows at the same gallery in the early sixties. Juried shows included the Boston Art Festival, the Rhode Island Art Festival, and the Jordan Marsh Show in Boston (8 years).

Besides photography, Harold became interested in film making and wrote, directed, filmed and produced five original 16 mm films and collaborated on two others. Three of these films were selected for showing at the Ann Arbor Festival, the Richmond Festival, and the Swetzoff Gallery in Boston.

Harold first lived in Boston's South End in 1956 when he rented a studio on the top floor of 296 Columbus Avenue. A unique feature of this studio was that it overlooked the studio of Hyman Bloom, near Dartmouth Street, so he could always tell if Hyman was working. From 1959 through 1962, he had a very large studio affording him an excellent view of the “El”, the elevated train, on the top floor at 1031 Washington Street.

After renting conventional apartments in the Fenway and in Mission Hill, Harold and his wife Donna purchased a Victorian brick row house in the South End in 1965. The building was a single-room occupancy lodging house like many buildings in the neighborhood. Harold had to fight the Veterans Administration for the mortgage and pay the seller an extra cash to seal the deal. While the couple slowly transformed the building into a home for themselves and their five children, Harold continued to create art in any available space including painting commissioned oil portraits in the middle of the living room. He cherished this home and the views from its windows.

In retirement, Harold enjoyed painting watercolors and drawing at the family’s rustic cottage located next to a tidal cove in Mid-coast, Maine and on the many trips he took with Donna including a few to Isla Mujeres and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. He took great joy in sharing his art with people at exhibits at the South End Library and during Open Studios weekends. For his 70th birthday in 2001, a large one-day retrospective exhibit and party was held at the South End’s Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center.

Harold rarely created art from secondary sources. His artistic inspirations were the things he saw and knew: his wife, family, friends, homes, belongings and the ever-changing scenery of Boston, the coast of Maine, and places he travelled.