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Artist Cynthia F. Cooley is known for her vivid paintings of steel mill interiors and of Pittsburgh's hillside neighborhoods and industrial valleys.

Career Highlights

  • A graduate of Lawrence University, which honored her with the 1997 Distinguished Career Achievement Award.
  • 57 individual exhibitions, including the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC
  • 1989 Artist of the Year at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
  • Named a "Master Artist" in Pittsburgh in 1998.
  • Over 2500 works are in private collections.
  • Works in over 90 public and corporate collections including:
  • Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh , PA
  • PA State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
  • Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA
  • Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh History Center
  • Penn State Mineral Sciences Museum, State College, PA
  • Pittsburgh Public Schools
  • The Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Book references:
  • Paintings are on the cover and featured in the 2019 book "Art Inspired by the Pittsburgh Steps," by Bob Regan
  • Steel mill paintings are included in the book, "100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic," published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. in 2011.
  • Studio in Durham, NH is pictured in "Artist's Homes and Studios" by E. Ashley Rooney, 2014.

My Story

My paintings explore the urban landscape, emphasizing the geometric forms, rich colors, and textures found in hillside neighborhoods, city skylines, industrial river valleys, and steel mills. Other works recreate the visual delight I find in world travels and coastal New England. Using a vibrant palette, strong design, and active surfaces, I try to produce memorable works which refer to reality, but have their own objective life as paintings. Contact me at Cynthia.cooley@comcast.net