Clifford Bailey paints the mood of the 1920s. Musicians in sharp suits, half-lit street corners, a cinematic shadow that make the scenes feel remembered, not staged. There is music in them even when no one is playing.
He works in oil, keeping his compositions spare and his lighting dramatic, so that a single figure or a quiet corner can carry the whole picture, with warm tones and deep shadows at the same time.
Born in Miami in 1969 and picked out as a gifted child across South Florida, Bailey took a degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He built his first following in an unlikely way, with one-night shows in the clubs of South Beach that drew collectors before his talent was recognised by galleries. His work is now held across Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
