Material
Oil
About
Collaboration landscape painting by Leila McConnell and Henri Gadbois. The work is framed in a thin brown frame with a grey matte. The corners are signed by either artist. The back has a personal message from the artist as well.
Artist Biography
Leila McConnell was born in 1927 in Los Angeles, California. Her family moved to Houston when she was six and, after graduating from high school, she enrolled at Rice Institute (now Rice University). At the time, Rice had no department of architecture but McConnell sought inspiration from iconic professor, James Chillman. After earning her bachelor of arts degree from Rice, she continued her art studies at the Museum School (now Glassell School) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In the summer of 1949, she attended the San Francisco School of Fine Arts and was fortunate to study under Mark Rothko. After her classes with Rothko, she began to paint more abstract pieces. In 1956 she married fellow artist Henri Gadbois. Realizing that she had a vivid imagination, McConnell embarked on a trip to Europe in 1960. The stucco buildings of Italy greatly impacted her vision and caused a change in her paintings. Her colors became soft and blended, often misty and portraying a sun or moon, causing the artist to deem many of her works “sky paintings.” In 1976, McConnell began creating paper collages, a diversion from her painted works. Though small, her collages impacted the way McConnell created her paintings—her edges became harder, mixed with the mistiness of her skies and her compositions became more symmetrical. McConnell continues to paint in her unique style and develop her oeuvre of “sky” pieces.
Dimensions
H 9.5 in. x W 11 in. x D .5 in.
Dimensions without Frame
H 4.5 in x W 6.5 in.
![Collaboration Landscape by Henri Gadbois and Leila McConnell, 2005](https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2368_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=320&s=70fb5029efef551301384815a7e4fe96 320w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2368_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=540&s=a429651fc49b697ace0c392287546f88 540w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2368_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=768&s=b34dae4c18af58251aa5c3c02f265e5f 768w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2368_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1024&s=3c2068ab65e13f0a21726eac0e28b7ba 960w)
![Collaboration Landscape by Henri Gadbois and Leila McConnell, 2005](https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2374_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=320&s=9fe13a8e204d70a504b772ab2a0f9b22 320w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2374_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=540&s=afbdb9d4cb4c0d5fd0e8e313ff99f8ac 540w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2374_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=768&s=ccdc9d217f41c1eeb98409fcc2adfab5 768w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/IMG_2374_master.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1024&s=cb347894bbbb9cecaff6cd95bf4cea61 960w)