Distinguished local and international artist George Nicholas Soppelsa passed away on October 11 from complications related to Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 84.
Son of Italian-born parents, Joseph and Rose (Gaiarsa), he was born in 1939 in Youngstown, Ohio. The last of his generation, he was predeceased by his beloved siblings Anthony, Florence (Ronyak), Eleanor (Chetsko) and Gloria (Kosiba). He is survived not only by Raymond E. Tubbs, who was his life-partner for 36 years and husband of the past 4 years, but also by numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews and nieces, and great-grandnephews and nieces, and loving in-laws.
Graduating in 1961 with BFA from Ohio State University, he went on to working as book designer for Doubleday & Co. After joining the US Army from 1963-65 he returned to NYC to work first as an Art Assistant for “The Saturday Evening Post” and Art Director of “Popular Photography.” In 1972 he moved to Florence, Italy where he studied Italian, worked in book design and as a teacher of painting, and then with a studio he most importantly established himself as a professional artist. Beginning with a long association with a gallery in Cologne, Germany he gradually established an international reputation of distinction with a following of admirers and collectors, and critical acclaim. His solo-exhibitions almost always sold out.
Not long after meeting his partner-to-be Ray (a free-lance artist’s agent) in 1984 he moved to East Hartford where he established a new studio and a new life, but with his Italian and German connections remaining intact. Now based in the USA, his career continued to advance. Among numerous awards in 1987 he won a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship Grant, 1988 Vermont Studio Center Residency Fellowship, Connecticut Commission on the Arts Grant, and in 1994-95 he was a Weir Farm National Historic Site Visiting Artist Fellow. Along with being included in many group exhibitions he had solo exhibitions with such as at the New Britain Museum of America Art, Chase/Freedman Gallery of the Hartford Jewish Community Center, Connecticut Commission of the Arts Gallery, traveling exhibition for ARCHA museums (Germany), John Szoke Gallery (NYC), and the Mulvane Art Museum (Topeka, KS). A large lushly illustrated monograph was published in Germany (text in both German and English) in 2007 by Inter Art Reich Verlag titled “How to See Through a Brick: The Work of George Soppelsa,” Raymond E. Tubbs (author). He has works in numerous private and public collections both in Europe and the USA. In Connecticut, his works are included in the collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut Artist Collection (State of CT), and the Raymond Library (East Hartford).
In accordance with his wishes, the burial will be privately held in Rose Hill Memorial Park, Rocky Hill, CT. A date and time for a Celebration of Life is yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made in his memory to: Beat Parkinson’s Today, 102 Pitkin St., East Hartford, CT 06108.
For online condolences, memories or photo tributes, please visit
www.rosehillfuneralhomect.com
We viewed “En plain eir, plain eir” at the New Britain Museum of American Art, the first of his works we’d ever seen. A true master. Grateful to George for his dedication to perfection. A very accomplished man indeed.
While I only knew George near the end of his life, his wonderful spirit was still fully intact. The New Britain Museum of American Art is very fortunate to have a work of his titled “En Plein Air En Plein” that his partner Ray Tubbs considers George’s masterpiece. I was very happy to see this work included in the museum’s recent exhibition “From the Vault.” It seems every time he visited the exhibition with friends and family, he would be surrounded by strangers asking for”selfies” with him. His intelligent, insightful, and often humorous images never cease to please the viewer. He will be sorely missed.