David Byrd

A poignant look into the psychological depths of the human mind-its possibilities and fragility. This is the impressive and sensitive legacy of the painter David Byrd. The artist joined the army during World War II and later worked as an orderly in the psychiatric ward of a Veterans hospital in Upstate New York. From 1958 to 1988, Byrd's keen observation of this world, filled with the crowded histories of its troubled patients, was recorded in the artist's sketchbook. This publication is a replica of the deeply personal, creative, and revelationary journal examining the human experience and its potential for pain and alienation on the fringe. Byrd's work was not publicly exhibited until 2013, only a few months before his death-an omission that seems absurd in the face of such a powerful output of artwork expressing the artist's perspective as a veteran himself and his empathy toward those living with psychological trauma.

“To call it a sketchbook doesn't begin to do justice to Byrd's draftsmanship, or to the otherworldly quality he brings to rendering his patients' inner lives on the page.”

--Brett Sokol "New York Times"

DAVID BYRD (1926-2013) was an American painter. After serving in World War II he studied at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts. Rarely seen during his lifetime, his art was deeply shaped by his experience as an orderly working in the psychiatric ward at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital in Montrose, New York.

This replica of Byrd's sketchbook is both an introduction to an under-appreciated American artist and a sensitive postwar portrait of those who served in World War II Though he rarely exhibited his art during his lifetime, American painter David Byrd (1926-2013) developed a sophisticated artistic practice alongside his career as a psychiatric ward orderly. A World War II veteran himself, Byrd was deeply affected by the nearly 30 years he spent working at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in upstate New York. In muted tones, Byrd depicts the alienation experienced by his patients with a particular sensitivity towards the illusion of space: even when crowded into the same room, his figures appear utterly alone. This publication is a replica of the journal that Byrd kept from 1958 to 1988, in which he documented the personal histories of his patients and reflected on humanity's capacity for pain and survival. Filled with sketches and daily observations, Byrd's journal is an introduction to an under-recognized artist as well as a record of psychological trauma during the postwar period in the United States.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.