A native of Dayton, Ohio, Gregory Montfort Dearth graduated
from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1971. During his long career in art, he has worked as a designer, illustrator, photographer and as a wood engraver, supplying blocks for handmade books. After studying at the Sander School of Engraving near Chicago, the esoteric art of wood engraving (and eventually scratchboard) led him into a career as a commercial illustrator.

As an Illustrator, he has worked for many book publishing houses, Fortune 500 companies and virtually every major advertising agency in the U.S. In 1993, Greg's art was the subject of a worldwide promotion by Champion Papers, which also won several awards. His work has been awarded and included in many of the juried Society of Illustrators' shows, the New York
One Show, various Art Directors' Clubs, as well as the juried annuals of Communication Arts, American Illustration and Print magazines. He has had a one man show at the Middletown Fine Arts Center, in Ohio. In 2001, Greg was awarded a plaque for his artistic contributions, including a mural, for the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA. He has been guest lecturer and instructor at the Columbus College of Art and Design and
Atlanta's Portfolio Center.

Alongside a busy commercial career, Greg maintained an avid interest in the Old Masters, and portraiture in particular began to hold great interest. Also, the personal interaction with clients held much appeal after so many years in the more impersonal

corporate world. His love of the
oil paintings of artists such as Frans Hals and Anthony Van
Dyck, of the Baroque, and
Thomas Lawrence and Henry Raeburn of the Georgian and Regency period led to intense research into their methods. He has studied privately with the portraitist, K. C. Wells and with
the renowned Nelson Shanks
at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, PA. Along the
way, Greg has added pastels
to his list of favorite mediums.
He now tries to combine the look and values of classical portrait painting with the contemporary society in which we live. It is this very connection with the past that many find so unique in his work. Today, he lives in Franklin, Ohio and is a member of The Portrait Society of America and The Dayton Visual Arts Center. Greg has taught portrait painting at the Dayton Art Institute, and is currently teaching drawing and oil painting at Rosewood Art Center in Kettering, Ohio.

Contact Greg at:
gmdearth@donet.com
or (937)-746-5970
Franklin, OH