of several early artists’ buildings, including the Westbeth, one of the largest artist’s community buildings in the world. In a 1962 article in the New York Times Magazine, the artist spoke for many of his colleagues when he described the artist’s classic battle between a life of financial stability and one of artistic integrity: “It becomes a sort of contest of values… Do we give up our personal freedom and artistic goals and a way of life for job security, a developmental higher salary, Blue Cross insurance policies and a new car? And is it a fair trade? We’ve decided it isn’t. In the end, we feel we have more, not less."

Gahagan taught painting at Pratt Institute (1965-1971), Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts (1968-1971), and Goddard College (1971-1979), where he became Chairman of the Art Department. He opened the James Gahagan School of Fine Arts in Woodbury, Vermont during the summers of 1971-1974 (continued)