| Rodman Pell (1909 - 1995) Any works by this artist is of interest to us |
| Rodman Pell (1909-1995) “Christmas Tree” 12 x 16 inches (used by U.N.I.C.E.F. for their 1977/1978 Christmas card) |
Rodman Pell (November 13,1909-March 13, 1995) was a direct descendant of King Edward II of England.
His aristocratic title was Sixteenth Lord of The Manor of Pelham. The Pell family at one time owned all
of the property (200,000 acres) today known as Westchester County, just north of New York City. The
Pell family tree in the Americas dates to 1634.
Rodman Pell lived his entire life as a local resident of Greenport, New York. The Pell name in this
eastern Long Island community was generally associated with seafood and the fishing industry which
Rodman ran for over 50 years.
In 1968 he started a second career which was painting, for which he had no formal training or schooling.
He was recovering from a heart attack and needed to occupy his free time. Painting was the
non-strenuous activity that filled this void in his remaining years. His paintings are considered a
primitive/naive folk art style closely resembling that of "Grandma Moses" (Anna Marie Robert Moses).
For this reason Rodman Pell has been given the name "The Grandpa Moses of Greenport" by local
residents. The images he produced were usually colorful and could be directly associated to a local farm
or historic home.
Pell opened his own art gallery/studio that was located at 214 Atlantic Avenue, Greenport, L.I., NY.
Many of his paintings that were on display had been bought as gifts and souvenirs by summer tourists,
as well as local residents. He advertised his art on his business card as "Early Americana" and "Historic
Folk-Lore" producing about 50 paintings a year during his prime. He became prominent as an artist
when several of his paintings in the 1970's were used by U.N.I.C.E.F. for their christmas cards. the
example shown above was used for the 1977/1978 Christmas U.N.I.C.E.F. greeting card sent throughout
the world. In 1981 the Renault USA company commissioned Pell to compose a winter scene painting with
Renault cars to be used for their holiday greeting cards. Each card that was mailed by Renault had
Rodman Pell's hand written signature across the front.
Information Source: Weekender, Vol. 1, No.4, July 15, 1982.
Information from AskArt.com (submitted by George's Art & Antiques)
His aristocratic title was Sixteenth Lord of The Manor of Pelham. The Pell family at one time owned all
of the property (200,000 acres) today known as Westchester County, just north of New York City. The
Pell family tree in the Americas dates to 1634.
Rodman Pell lived his entire life as a local resident of Greenport, New York. The Pell name in this
eastern Long Island community was generally associated with seafood and the fishing industry which
Rodman ran for over 50 years.
In 1968 he started a second career which was painting, for which he had no formal training or schooling.
He was recovering from a heart attack and needed to occupy his free time. Painting was the
non-strenuous activity that filled this void in his remaining years. His paintings are considered a
primitive/naive folk art style closely resembling that of "Grandma Moses" (Anna Marie Robert Moses).
For this reason Rodman Pell has been given the name "The Grandpa Moses of Greenport" by local
residents. The images he produced were usually colorful and could be directly associated to a local farm
or historic home.
Pell opened his own art gallery/studio that was located at 214 Atlantic Avenue, Greenport, L.I., NY.
Many of his paintings that were on display had been bought as gifts and souvenirs by summer tourists,
as well as local residents. He advertised his art on his business card as "Early Americana" and "Historic
Folk-Lore" producing about 50 paintings a year during his prime. He became prominent as an artist
when several of his paintings in the 1970's were used by U.N.I.C.E.F. for their christmas cards. the
example shown above was used for the 1977/1978 Christmas U.N.I.C.E.F. greeting card sent throughout
the world. In 1981 the Renault USA company commissioned Pell to compose a winter scene painting with
Renault cars to be used for their holiday greeting cards. Each card that was mailed by Renault had
Rodman Pell's hand written signature across the front.
Information Source: Weekender, Vol. 1, No.4, July 15, 1982.
Information from AskArt.com (submitted by George's Art & Antiques)