Life
Jack Callahan was born in Sommerville, Massachusetts, and attended the Massachusetts School of Art and the Vesper George Art School in Boston where he also became a teacher.
Jack was one of the country's most accomplished portrait painters receiving commissions well beyond the bounds of New England. Among his honors were the gold medal of honor from the Hudson Valley Art Association, Best Portrait from the Pastel Society of America, and best in show of the North Shore Arts Association.
Listed in Who's Who in American Art in the East, Jack's commissioned portraits were hung in many universities, private collections, hospitals, and banks, and he received many fine awards for his paintings.
Jack was a regular at the Sketch Program at the Rockport Art Association for the discipline of capturing a new personality. "Like playing a musical instrument," Jack said, "the finger sensitivity would be lessened without the daily use of the skill."
"You learn by working, and it all becomes so personal that it's almost impossible to explain. It's like handwriting. A good stroke in pastel or oil is full of the personality of the painter."
- Jack Callahan
South Street Studio
Gallery on Bearskin Neck
High Street Studio w/ Family
High Street Studio
High Street Studio
"I don't consider painting portraits a put-down. I do them proudly because I address my work first to God, then to myself, and thirdly to the people who will own them."
-Jack Callahan
