Ira Yeager

1938 - 2022

Ira Yeager

1938 - 2022

World-Renowned Artist Ira Yeager, Whose Work Spanned Decades and Continents, Passes at 83

Ira Yeager, 83, passed away peacefully at his home in Calistoga, California, in the presence of close friends and secure in the knowledge he was an inspiration to all who knew him.

A true bohemian, raconteur and entertainer, Yeager lived a storied life, enjoying adventures abroad and artistic successes that established him as an eminent modern painter. His celebrated works include landscapes of exotic locales where he lived, Native Americans he met traveling the U.S., colorful characters he encountered traveling the world, and the natural beauty he saw in animals and flowers he found along the way.

Yeager was born November 10, 1938 and raised in Bellingham, Washington. His father, Ira Sr., founded a sporting goods store and led fishing and hunting expeditions in the Pacific Northwest. The younger Ira rejected these pursuits and turned instead to art, taking up painting at the age of eight.

Yeager enrolled in the California College of Arts and Crafts, studying with the abstract expressionist Richard Diebenkorn and later studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. Yeager then traveled extensively, developing a distinctive body of work that captured the personalities and environments he encountered while living in Italy, Greece, Morocco, Santa Fe, and New York City.

It was his time in Greece and Morocco which particularly inspired him. "When I found the Mediterranean, an awakening and an epiphany emerged – I was home," he wrote. He kept esteemed company, becoming friendly with Alan Ginsberg, William Boroughs, Tennessee Williams, and Paul and Jane Bowles.

In his 30's, Yeager met the love of his life, lawyer-turned-ceramic artist George Hellyer. They lived in Corfu, Greece for a decade but moved back to California together. Yeager settled in Calistoga buying a studio near Hellyer's 50-acre farm. While Hellyer grew prized Zinfandel grapes, as well as fruits and vegetables, Yeager continued painting.

Hellyer's regal style complemented Yeager's adventurous spirit as they joined to become a social power couple, moving among VIPs, celebrities, and anyone who would enjoy their spirited merrymaking! Yeager also befriended renowned Bay Area artists Joan Brown, Manuel Neri, and Robert Colescott.

After nearly fifty years together, the couple formalized their union in 2018 and continued to enjoy their elegant lives until Hellyer died last June. They maintained a residence in San Francisco along with Yeager's own famed studio on Shotwell Street.

Yeager owned several properties and residences in the Calistoga area with a studio overlooking the Petrified Forest. In 2000, he acquired a beautiful estate at Sea Ranch overlooking the Pacific that served as his "Versailles"- a getaway to relax, paint and enjoy the local life and community.

In 2018, Yeager's Curator and Studio Director of 30 years, Brian Fuller, opened the YÄGER GALERIE in Calistoga, Napa Valley to showcase the artist's first permanent collection. Numerous exhibits have included "Indian Summer: Portraits of Nobility," "Homage to Pierre Bonnard" and "Secret Gardens of Sicily."

Yeager is survived by his sister, Sally Yeager, and his nephew, Frank "Skip" Uhrig of Bellingham, Washington as well as nieces Marianne Uhrig and Ellen Uhrig. Other relatives through his union with George Hellyer include his niece, Jan Du Plain of Washington, DC and nephew, Robert Hellyer of North Beach, Maryland. Those at his side when he passed included his "adopted son" Moises Caballos, caregiver and aide William Salato, and long-time business partner and friend, Brian Fuller.

An "Ira/George Celebration" of their life and art is planned for Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at the Yager Galerie in Calistoga. Call 707-341-3141 for further information