Harold Garde was an American painter known for vibrant, works that often explored the intersection of color and form. Born in 1923 in New York, his art is rooted in the post-World War II abstract expressionist movement, though his style evolved throughout his career. Following the war, Garde took advantage of the G.I. Bill and attended the University of Wyoming. There he studied with George McNeil, a veteran of the Hans Hofmann School and the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program that funded visual arts in the United States during the Great Depression. Garde also studied with the prominent Russian Constructivist, Ilya Bolotowsky, learning lessons about structure and composition. In 1948, Leon Kelly joined the faculty, bringing with him a strong understanding of Surrealism and first-hand knowledge of the Surrealist refugee artists who were exhibiting at important New York galleries. This meant that compressed into Garde’s studio experience were three of the major forces in the art of the day: expressionism, abstraction and surrealism, all of which can be seen in his approach to painting. After returning to New York, Garde attended Columbia University where he received an MA in Fine Arts and Art Education in 1951. His paintings of the 1950s, with their strong angular brushstrokes and sustained intensity reflect his involvement with Abstract Expressionism. In subsequent decades, Garde introduced representational and narrative elements to his paintings. One of Garde’s significant innovations is the “Strappo” technique of transferring dry acrylic painting on glass onto another surface. With the Strappo technique Garde created individual works on paper, but he also added new layers of painting on to larger canvases. Garde’s work is in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Florida Art, DeLand; Portland Museum of Art and the Farnsworth Museum, Maine; the Fine Arts Museum of New Mexico, and the Print Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; among others.