Joseph Crilley was born in Philadelphia and spent many hours of his youth at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, each a four mile walk from his home. His work was first published in 1938, a black and white wash self-portrait as a Boy Scout, on the cover of “The Quaker City Scout” magazine.
Crilley studied evenings at the Philadelphia College of Art and the Graphic Sketch Club. Following paratroop service in World War II, he moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania, where a thriving community of artists had existed since the early 1900’s. He taught art for six years in the New Hope Solebury schools, where many of his students were the children of recognized artists.
In summers the artist painted at his studio in Nova Scotia and flogged the waters daily for salmon and sea trout. Crilley enjoyed skiing and traveling to Europe each winter. The rest of the year he worked at home in Carversville, Pennsylvania. Although he painted trompe l’oeil and still lifes when his eyes were young, his travels at home in the Delaware Valley, in Canada and abroad informed his work.
Joseph Crilley’s series of pen and ink drawings of cathedrals display an extraordinary talent. Crilley also worked for many years as a professional photographer in museums and schools in America and Europe, and he produced a book “New York Island of Islands” with more than 100 photographs. Since 1960 he had 28 one-man exhibitions, received 64 awards for his work, and has paintings in collections from Cape Breton to Australia.
1945 in France
On the scene, the Battle of the Bulge. Joseph Crilley was one of the most famous and successful painters working in the New Hope area. Yet his rich life also saw experiences in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium during World War II.
1955 in Studio
Bob Stevens photographed Joe Crilley in 1955 painting a portrait of Eric Fast.
1994 in Studio
Joseph Crilley surrounded by his paintings of many styles in a former studio in 1994.