Alphonse Lane
Alphonse Lane grew up surrounded by quiet but lasting influences of art and craft. He recalls a reproduction of Rembrandt’s Man in a Golden Helmet hanging above the family mantle, his mother playing piano, and the chalkboard she gave him with scrolls of images to copy in colored chalk. His grandfather, a cabinetmaker born in 1887, embodied the “old school” ethic of building things to last—an ethic Lane carried into his own practice as a painter.
That childhood chalkboard moment—redrawing pictures until they came alive—sparked the sense of accomplishment that would guide him toward art. Over the years, his education provided both structure and identity. Lane holds a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1986), a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania (1995), and an MFA in Painting (2004). He credits this training with giving him both the mechanics of the picture plane and the confidence to pursue his vision with discipline.
Lane’s work has shifted through many visual languages—Surrealism, Realism, abstraction—before arriving at his current explorations of landscape. His recurring themes include flowers, seasonal change, and structures that echo the Victorian house he grew up in as the youngest of thirteen children, a home full of stories and heritage. Influences range from Rembrandt, Picasso, and Goya to Millet, Dali, the German Expressionists, and the Romantic painters.
Technically, Lane is as devoted to craft as he is to vision. He prepares his own birch panels with Belgian linen and handmade rabbit skin glue gesso, applying layer after layer with meticulous precision. His process reflects both his grandfather’s old-world craftsmanship and lessons learned from mentors such as master framer Carl Laughlin. “In art, your work is an exact mirror of who you are,” Lane notes. “Persistence and paying attention to study is paramount.”
Though his works are not yet widely collected, Lane continues to paint with the belief that they will one day find their place in museums. His current focus is on painterly surfaces, enriched with vibrant colors designed to move the eye fluidly across the canvas. For him, success lies in being true to himself: “In the execution of my craft, I found purpose to live, a purpose to strive and advance myself in the field through the means of art.”
