GERALD MONROE

MONROE--Gerald. Gerald Monroe, 94, an abstract painter who did seminal research on the 1930's Artists Union, died June 15 under palliative care at Southampton Hospital. He lived in Water Mill, NY. Born August 17, 1926, in Brooklyn, he served in the Pacific Theater at the end of WWII, graduated from the Cooper Union and received his doctorate from NYU. His dissertation on the role of the Artists Union in leftist politics during the Great Depression has been cited by many later scholars of the period and he published numerous scholarly articles on the subject. This work was honored by the Archives of American Art. Mr. Monroe, who for decades painted at his Westbeth studio, was represented over the years by SoHo and Chelsea galleries. His work also was shown at the Parrish Museum in Southampton, Guild Hall in East Hampton, and museums in Trenton and Newark. He taught drawing and painting at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in the 1970's and 1980's. He is survived by his companion of 38 years, Wendy Sclight.