Auseklis Ozols

Auseklis Ozols (born September 22, 1941) is a Latvian-born American artist and professor based in New Orleans. Ozols has been active in the fields of oil painting, watercolor painting, ink, and photography.

Auseklis Ozols
Born
Auseklis Ozols

September 22, 1941
Strenci, Latvia
NationalityUnited States American
EducationPennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University
Known forFine Arts Painter and Teacher
Spouse(s)Gwendolyn Laan Ozols, born 1950 - died 1980

Biography

Auseklis Ozols was born in Strenci, Latvia in 1941. He moved to the U.S. with his family in 1950. Ozols graduated in 1961 from the Trenton School of Industrial Arts. In 1965, Ozols went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, before receiving a Master of Fine Arts in 1969 from Temple University.

Ozols moved to New Orleans in 1970, where he married Gwendolyn Laan; they had three daughters. Gwendolyn Laan Ozols died in 1980.

Inspired by Thomas Eakins and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Ozols founded the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts in 1978. Ozols also designed The Academy Gallery, located inside the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. The school is still in operation today.

Ozols’ works have been included in public and private collections internationally. In New Orleans, he has received the Delgado Award from the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Strength in Age Award, and the Community Arts Award from the Arts Council of New Orleans. His works have been displayed at the Louisiana Governor's Mansion, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Jersey State Museum, and the Latvian Museum of Art in Riga, Latvia.

Ozols lost the sight of his right eye in 2012, but continues to paint and teach. He retired from his work with the New Orleans Academy in 2020. Noteworthy students of Ozols include Kate Samworth and Matt Rinard.

Further reading
  • Auseklis Ozols: The Romantic Realism of an Artist, text by John R Kemp (Pelican Publishing, 2018)
  • Expressions of Place: The Contemporary Louisiana Landscape, by John R Kemp (2016)
  • A Unique Slant of Light: The Bicentennial History of Art in Louisiana, eds. Michael Sartisky, J. Richard Gruber, and John R. Kemp (2012)
  • The Majesty of St Charles Avenue (2001)
  • Article in American Artist magazine, June 1993
  • Oil Highlights Still Life Magazine, An American Artist Publication, Collector Series, January 1997
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