The Woodstock Library Forum will present the multi-talented Douglas I. Sheer in a talk about his life in art and his 48 years leading Artists Talk on Art (ATOA), 5 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, October 29, at the Library, 5 Library Lane, Woodstock.
Douglas Sheer was one of three people who conceived and organized the critically acclaimed ATOA in 1974 to provide a platform to share opinions and thoughts for critical dialogue in the arts. ATOA’s historic archives were acquired by the Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian Institution in 2016.
Early on, Sheer’s artist parents exposed and introduced him to many well-known artists. As a child he was exposed to the teaching of Hans Hoffman because his parents who attended Hoffman’s classes couldn’t find a babysitter.
His first art teacher at the Rhodes Preparatory School in Manhattan was Jim Dine who encouraged him to apply to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where he studied painting.
In the late sixties, he discovered experimental film and soon after video art and worked with the Judson’s Poet’s Theater where he created sets, stage managed and acted in one play. He is credited with being the first artist to “colorize” b/w film footage.
Sheer eventually moved to Woodstock where he continues to paint and exhibit, he serves on the Board of Directors and several committees of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild.
The Woodstock Library Forum is the longest running cultural affairs program in the Hudson Valley and is sponsored by The Friends of The Woodstock Library.
Join the family! 
