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WHEREAS, in the words of Teddy Roosevelt, "far and away the best prize in life that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." The life and work of Robert L. Qualters, Jr. has not only proven to be work worth doing but work done passionately; and,
WHEREAS, Robert L. Qualters, Jr. is an American painter, installation artist and printmaker, the quintessential Pittsburgh artist, known for his vivid, color-saturated depictions of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, bridges and steel mills as well as self-portraits; and,
WHEREAS, born in McKeesport, raised in Clairton and educated at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now CMU, the California College of Arts and Crafts and Syracuse University, Robert Qualters maintains a studio in Homestead and lives in Squirrel Hill; and,
WHEREAS, a 1985 Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Artist of the Year and a past president of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Robert Qualters has exhibited in New York, California, Maine and West Virginia, has had 30 solo artist shows and has completed more than two dozen public murals and site specific installations. He is well known for collaborations with other Pittsburgh based artists across several disciplines; and,
WHEREAS, in celebration of his 80th birthday on March 13, 2014, local independent curator Vicky A. Clark has put together a retrospective, "Robert Qualters : A Life" which covers four decades of his paintings, drawings and prints. Clark is also the author of a new book, "Robert Qualters : Autobiographical Mythologies" and as part of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts exhibit, Joe and Elizabeth Seamans plan to premiere a new movie on March 20 : "Bob Qualters: The Artist in Action". All three projects will showcase nearly half a century of mills, neighborhood corners, streetscapes, bridges, falling leaves and red skies that saturate the Qualters catalogue ; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby congratulate Robert Qualters on the occasion of his 80th birthday and recognizes, commends and congratulates him for a lifetime of extraordinary art , contributing to the rich cultural life of Pittsburgh and for creating a permanent legacy for the region and its people.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, , that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Thursday, March 13, 2014, to be " ROBERT L. QUALTERS, JR. DAY" in the City of Pittsburgh.