Lawrence Garrison

GARRISON, LAWRENCE "VINCENT" Most of us can only dream of living the life that Lawrence "Vincent" Garrison lived. Following his service in the Marine Corps during World War II, he attended the New England School of Art in Boston, MA. Following graduation, he moved to San Diego with his wife Elizabeth and began painting professionally. Vincent is most well-known for his nude oil paintings that currently hang in nearly 300 galleries worldwide. Several times during his career, his work was the center of media attention. First, in 1980 when his work was destroyed in the MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas, and again when a portrait was stolen then recovered in the home of a celebrity art collector. He has painted portraits of some of the most famous people in the world, but painting nudes was always his passion. As a perfectionist, he constantly strived to capture the elegance of women. Lawrence was once quoted as saying, "I wanted to put women on a pedestal." Aside from being a celebrated artist, his interests further included sailing, racing cars, building custom cars, travel and photography. His sense of humor and his genuine individuality will always be remembered. He is survived by his children Paul Garrison, Janet Mittleman, and Barbara Spinali, and his sister Leone Hayworth. Funeral services will be held Friday, May 25, 2007 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, at 2:30 p.m. Please sign the guest book at obituaries.uniontrib.com