Joseph Plavcan: The Making of an Artist, Part III

March 19th, 2025 - TBD

Nicholas Gallery

Joseph Plavcan (1908–1981) is one of the most celebrated artists and art educators in the history of Erie, Pennsylvania, with a career spanning a half century. Plavcan worked with various media and painted mostly from life, capturing the people and places of his community. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he learned from established artists such as Daniel Garber and Francis Speight. After returning to Erie in 1931, Plavcan continued his robust painting practice and taught art at Erie Technical High School for nearly 40 years. He was constantly involved in learning through observation, insisting his students draw from life. His fascination with the act of perception inspired generations of students to pursue their own artistic careers.

This exhibition presents the third installment of a rotating exhibition that features Plavcan’s work created from 1936–1980, capturing a city in the midst of major change. It also highlights his profound impact on the next generation of Erie artists and art teachers. Many in this group of artists continued the legacy of mentorship, teaching art at the Museum, schools, and in universities in the region. His students include a who’s who of Erie’s most notable artists – painters Wilda Sundberg, Don Lord, Dan Burke and sculptors John Silk Deckard, John Vahanian, and David Seitzinger. These artists explore color theory across a wide range of styles – from the expressionist landscapes of Alberta Cifolelli and Vitus Kaiser to the op art of Richard Anuszkiewicz, Roy Ahlgren, and Carl Sundberg.

Drawing on works from the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as those borrowed from other collectors and institutions, this exhibition maps the arc of Plavcan’s career as a painter and mentor. What emerges is a remarkable artistic journey rooted in Erie’s history that explores the interplay between the works of Plavcan and his students.