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“To me, to be able to use a brush on a canvas, it’s a very wonderful day. I’m lucky that way.” —Will Barnet

We’re going to take a little break for Memorial Day weekend, so we’re bringing you our Vault post early this week, with a tribute to one of our true all-time favorites, the great Will Barnet, whose birth date is tomorrow, May 25. Barnet was born in 1911 in Beverly, Massachusetts, and passed away on November 13, 2012 in New York City at the incredible age of 101. Barnet was truly living art history. He began his studies in art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and at the time watched John Singer Sargent at work on his murals at the Boston Public Library. After moving to New York around 1930, he enrolled at the Art Students League at the same time as Jackson Pollock (he was a year older than Pollock), and subsequently worked for the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.

Intensely curious, Barnet delved deeply and passionately into numerous styles and movements throughout the 20^th century, always with his own unique perspective and voice. He was also known for his generosity of spirit, always showing up for the exhibitions of friends and students, and he held numerous teaching positions for decades. He had his first solo exhibition in New York in 1935, painted almost daily, and exhibited frequently, right up until his death in 2012 – from 1982 until the time of his death, he lived and worked at the famed National Arts Club on Gramercy Park.

Early in 2012, NYC-ARTS sat down with Barnet, at the age of 100, to reminisce and talk about painting, bringing us this incredible encapsulation of his life and art.