Questroyal Gallery at 903 Park Avenue in Manhattan will host an important retrospective of great Greenpoint painter Ralph Blakelock from November 11th through December 10th. The show is titled “Ralph Albert Blakelock: The Great Mad Genius Returns” and will feature many of his works.
Like many avant-guard geniuses, Blakelock suffered greatly in life. He fell in love with a local beauty, Cora Bailey from Milton Street. They married in 1877 and had ten children together. He tried to support his family through sales of his works, but few people appreciated his artistic vision. The tension created by trying to feed his large family and painting in his radically new style led Blakelock over the edge and in 1899 he suffered his final mental breakdown and was institutionalized for twenty years.
Today Blakelock’s works fetch massive sums. In 2005 Blakelock’s famous painting Indian Encampment sold for three-and-a-half million dollars. You might not have enough money to buy a Blakelock canvas, but you can enjoy the Greenpoint artist’s exhibit next month for free.