James King Loveless

 

James (Jim) King Loveless, 87, professor emeritus of art and art history and a noted North American painter, died February 3, 2023, with family at his side. Jim was a resident of Hamilton, NY, where he taught art and art history at Colgate University from 1966 until his retirement in 1998, and created art from his local studio for more than half a century.

 

Born April 24, 1935, in Saginaw, Michigan, Jim lived much of his early life in Indiana, most notably in Greencastle where his father was director of athletics at DePauw University. Jim’s mother Edris possessed an artist’s imagination and sensitivity and was a profound influence in Jim’s childhood development, especially during his long recuperation from rheumatic fever.

 

Jim pursued his interest in art as an undergraduate at DePauw, earning the Bachelor of Arts in 1957, and as a graduate student at Indiana University, where he was awarded the Master of Fine Arts in 1960. He briefly considered a career in the highly technical field of medical illustration, but was drawn instead to teaching and joined the faculty of Hope College in Holland Michigan, where he was assistant professor of art from 1960-1964. He moved on to the University of Kentucky for two years before being recruited to Colgate, where he became a tenured professor.

 

Jim’s encyclopedic knowledge of art and artists, combined with his easy demeanor and subtle wit, made him a popular lecturer, not only in the classroom but also with groups of Colgate alumni, who frequently invited him to visit, and with local organizations who sought him as a speaker.

 

He was also a skilled studio artist whose catalogue – mostly in oil and acrylics – spanned diverse genres. In his artist’s statement for a retrospective exhibition in 2016 he invited viewers “…to consider all the paintings on exhibit – whether landscapes or those that appear more abstract – as unfolding in an unbroken line.” He often said, “The only figure I care about is the single viewer looking at my painting.”

 

Over the years Jim’s work was featured in many solo and group exhibitions at galleries and museums including the Museum of American Art (Washington, DC), Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Grand Rapids Museum of Art, Everson Museum (Syracuse), Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute (Utica), and at more than a dozen colleges and universities. His work is included in the collections of Chase Manhattan Bank, Ithaca College, the Martha Jackson Print Gallery, Munson-William-Proctor, Gettysburg College, Hamilton College, and Colgate, among others. Jim’s work is also represented and enjoyed in countless private collections across the country, and he donated works to the collections of local institutions such as Hamilton Public Library and the First Baptist Church of Hamilton (where Jim was a congregant).

 

Both Yaddo (1980) and the Millay Colony (1987) awarded Jim fellowships to support his artistic development.

 

That vast experience as a painter, informed by his knowledge of artists and art history and tempered by his gentle humanity, made Jim a cherished mentor in the studio to generations of artists in classes on campus and in the community. Artist Bruce Morser of Vashon, Washington, a 1976 Colgate graduate, wrote: “Aside from being my original college professor just over 50 years ago, Jim became one of the very small handful of people that somehow gave me permission to be the person/artist I was supposed to be. He was kind of an artistic father to me.  He let me buck the traditional fine art system, and he also managed to do it without talking a lot about it.  He just showed me with a level of kindness not common in the art world.”

 

As a colleague who served terms as department chair and director of University Studies, Jim was also a mentor to young faculty. Professor of Psychology Scott Kraly recalled: “I met and worked with Jim rather early in my career. That was my good fortune, because he was a wonderful model of how to be a serious yet fun-loving colleague.”

 

Jim enjoyed nothing more than his family, especially convivial, multi-generational feasts to toast any occasion, and annual gatherings of the clan on the Jersey shore. He was an easy friend to have, non-judgmental, conversant on many topics, with a laugh that rewarded a story twist. With a painter’s eye for color, he could mix a consistent Manhattan by hue; he liked an olive in his Martini.  He had a deep appreciation for classical music and was a voracious reader with remarkable recall. All qualities that served him to the end.

 

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, RuthAnn (Speer) Loveless, his children Libby (Tom) Hamilton, Karen Linn, Ellen (John) Frutchey all of Indianapolis, IN.; Doug (Alice Virden) Speer and David (Darcie Leach) Loveless, all of Hamilton; a sister Pamela (Mark) Schumacher, of Greensboro, NC; grandchildren Ashley, Amy, Aaron, Allie, Jake, Garrett, Jon Douglas “JD”, Brooke, Lindsey; and 5 great-grandchildren.

 

A memorial is being planned for May 7, 2023 at the First Baptist Church in Hamilton. The family suggests memorial contributions be directed to the James King Loveless Memorial Fund at Colgate.