David Lax

Born 1910 in Peekskill, NY, just a train ride from New York City, located in the Hudson Valley. Lax went on to attend the prestigious private preparatory school, Fieldstone, in the city for high school. Through their Ethical Culture School branch he was able to study as a painting scholar from 1924-1928. During World War II he was chosen amongst 19 other civilian artists in the War Art Unit as an illustrator for the U.S. Army Corps, where he was tasked with documenting his surroundings on the ground with the troops. Post war, Lax started working at the Duchess Community College where he eventually chaired their Art department. In 1983, just seven years before his passing, Lax donated over 100 paintings to the RIT Collection. Mostly working with oil, acrylic, and pastel mediums, his pieces are vibrant reflections of his own philosophical preoccupations with the human condition.