| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | John (Jack) Coleman grew up in Des Moines, IA, earned a BA in Philosophy from Conception Seminary in Missouri (1955), and briefly studied for priesthood at Mount St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque, IA. He served in the United States Air Force from 1958-1961, and, having been honourably discharged from four years of service, returned to his studies at Drake University in Des Moines, IA where he earned both a BFA (1969) and an MFA (1972) in painting.
In 1966-1967, Coleman designed and built the stained glass windows at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Urbandale, IA. He taught grades 5-8 at St. Pius X School, and art classes at the Des Moines Art Center and the Winterset Art Center, IA. He exhibited regionally until 1973, when he moved to Bragg Creek, AB. He then served as an assistant administrator at the Alberta, Canada Art Institute, and as an Instructor of Painting and Drawing at the Alberta College of Art & Design (formerly the Alberta College of Art) in Calgary. Art writer Nancy Tousley noted the allusions of his paintings on wood panel to Byzantine and early Renaissance art and likened an enclave in the James Ulrich Gallery that displayed his work to a chapel. Coleman returned to Iowa in 1999 and retired in rural Norwalk, where he maintained his passion for art, collected antiques and other unusual artifacts, and spent time in nature with his four dogs. His memorial mass was held in the morning at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Urbandale so the light could enter through his stained glass windows.
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