Featured Artist

Ralph Goings was born to working class parents in Corning California on May 9, 1928 and was a true child of the Great Depression. Goings began painting at a young age and was so determined he sometimes resorted to splashing house paint across canvasses of bed sheets when proper materials were unavailable.

Goings briefly studied at Hartnell College before being encouraged to move to Oakland to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts and eventually earning his MFA from Sacramento State College. Aesthetically, Goings was a major player in the rise of the American Photorealist movement, in which the artists took photographs to use as a basis for creating their paintings. The work of Goings often depicts seemingly normal components of American society in the 1960s and 70s, such as hamburger stands, condiments, billiard parlors, and diners. Other major artists of American Photorealism include Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack and Robert Bechtle.

The celebrated works of Goings are visible in many world class art galleries, such as the Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and Museum of Modern Art, all in New York, and Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The paintings of Goings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and the world. After many years of hard work and success, Goings still resides in California.