Will Barnet, painting at 99, dies at 101

Will Barnet painting for videographer Aubrey Kauffman

Today the artist Will Barnet died, at the age of 101. I remember the day that I met him, in the early winter two years ago. He was preparing for an exhibit at the Montclair Art Museum of his new work, and I went with the museum's director of marketing Michael Gillespie and my NJN video crew (Aubrey Kauffman and Paul Horvath), to his apartment in the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park in New York City. 

It was a classic old apartment and Will Barnett had lived and painted there for a long time. There was a balcony along the main living room/studio hung with African masks. There were stacks of art books, and some of his large paintings from the 1970s hung very high on the tall walls. But what struck me most were the canvasses - stacked facing in against the walls, with dates painted on the backs. Many were from that very month.

Will Barnet painted that day, and let our camera record him. He was working on an abstract painting destined for his show in Montclair. He had other exhibits coming up as well, to mark the occasion of his 100th birthday that spring. The visit made a strong impression on all of us - his spirit was so young, so involved with what he was doing, and his body of work was so deep. It was the kind of life that lucky artists can have, productive and meaningful to the last.

Here's a link to the story I did for State of the Arts. It's on the old NJN Arts & Culture YouTube, where people still find it.