Elgas Grim was born in 1913 in Lexington Nebraska, studying art by correspondence course, in High School, and at Nebraska Wesleyan, graduating from the University of Nebraska. He moved to the active art center of Los Angeles in the 1930s, to Chiounard’s and Otis Art Institute, where he served as an instructor and met his wife Dorathy O’Neal. During World War II he headed a technical group producing silk-screen posters at Camp Roberts in California, later shipping to the Phillipines.
Before and after the war he worked as a commercial artist in Los Angeles, becoming one of the founding partners of Studio Artists Incorporated. Grim had a reputation as an outstanding black and white illustrator, but increasingly pursued his own fine art as well. He worked extensively in wood cuts, wood engravings, and lithographs, but also produced fine art enamels and jewelry. Dorathy Grim was a potter and the Grim Show and Sale became an annual event at their home in South Pasadena.
Although he avoided self-promotion, Elgas Grim’s work was represented in the Phil Paradise gallery in Cambria, California, at the Santa Barbara museum, and in private collections and at various outlets in the Los Angeles area. All work, when signed at all, is signed simply ‘Elgas.’
We offer a small sample of his work.
My Wife and I
etching
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Feline
wood block
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Anatamis
wood block
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Carousel
wood block
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Pears
lithograph
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Early Snow
wood engraving
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After
wood engraving
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San Miguel
wood block
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Blind
wood block
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SD (South Dakota)
wood engraving
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Tommy
lithograph
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Creamery
string print
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Two awards carry his name in the School of Art, Art History and Design within the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, his alma mater.
The Elgas Promise Award recognizes outstanding studio art students, given annually during the Spring Capstone exhibit.
The Elgas Project Grants provide financial support for independent creative research projects, submitted with plans, material list, resume, letter of faculty support and budget. Elgas Projects are exhibited in a public gallery.
https://arts.unl.edu/art/elgas-project-grants
Patrick Grim
patrick.grim@stonybrook.edu
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