TAWA at 45
The Exhibition
Rex Goreleigh
Portrait of a Migrant Worker
watercolor, ca. 1970; 29″h x 23″w; Collection of Lawrence M. Hilton
Rex Goreleigh (1902-1986) was known for figure genre, landscape, and portrait work and during the 1960s and 1970s, was known particularly for his paintings of migrant farm workers. Goreleigh was born in Penllyn, PA in 1902. In 1934, under the WPA, Goreleigh met and worked with Ben Shahn. In 1936, he studied art in Europe, and upon returning to America, he taught in both Harlem and established an art center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Goreleigh moved to Princeton in 1947 and spent almost 40 years teaching art. He was Executive Director of the Princeton Group Arts and worked to bridge the racial divisions in Princeton through visual and performing arts.