Born in Coney Island, N.Y. in 1934, Richard Segalman (d. 2021) is renowned for his luminous depictions of beautifully and voluminously draped female figures posed in the artist’s studios in Manhattan and his home in Woodstock, N.Y., as well as on the beaches of Naples, Florida, and Coney Island.

“My first influence was being surrounded by hats, color and fabric,” he once wrote. “My mother was a milliner. Being in this atmosphere, began my life in art. I saw the work of Degas, Sargent and Sorolla, and it was like coming home.” Ebb and Flow, an exhibit of Segalman’s work will be on display at Myrtle Beach’s Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum from May 30 to September 1. 

The beginning of Segalman’s 60-year career found success with his charcoal drawings in which he explored all aspects of the figure, developing a special ability to capture and convey his models’ personalities.                      

Throughout the course of his life, Segalman pushed himself forward both technically and creatively by mastering new media, including pastel, watercolor, oil and printmaking.

Ebb and Flow features over 50 of the artist’s beach works in all of the media in which he worked. Gorgeous flowing drapery cascading in ocean breezes and bathed in golden light will fill our galleries and souls with that wonderful feeling of liberation and peace we encounter, where the water meets the shore.

Segalman’s work is permanently housed in over 40 museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (N.Y.), the Hirshhorn Museum (D.C.) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA). He has been represented by the Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples since 1981.