Matthew Bates

Art Brokerage: Matthew Bates American Artist: b. 1970. Matthew Bates was born into an artistic family in Washington, DC in 1970. Painting has always been a part of the family life, Matthew's grandmother Constance Wigglesworth Holden an accomplished painter from Cambridge, MA studied with Fernand Léger in his Paris Studio. Matthew's Father Stephen Bates is an abstract painter and professional clarinet player at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC whose director is Placido Domingo. Since Matthew was immersed in the arts at home it was natural that Matthew took an interest in painting. His first art teacher was Percy Martin at the Sidwell Friends School where Matthew graduated with the honor of the school art award. Mr. Martin had a relaxed approach to teaching preferring to let his students experiment with several different mediums from printmaking to painting in all styles and mediums and drawing. What was important was that you worked hard, and Matthew took that to heart, spending all of his free time in the art studio. In 1988 Matthew moved out to San Francisco to study art at the Academy of Art College. The first two years were formidable and he learned everything from design techniques, to manipulation of color, to the anatomy of the human body, and most of all drawing. Listings wanted.