Gerry Metz

from The George G. Matthews Collection of Western Art

Hubert Wackermann

1943 - 2018

Born and raised in Chicago, Gerry Metz pursued his interest in art attending the School of Professional Art in Chicago. Before devoting himself to working full-time as a fine artist, Metz worked as a commercial artist, serving as the director of the Village Art School in Skokie, Illinois, and later as an Oil Painting and Life Drawing instructor at the Phoenix Art Museum.

At the age of 30 Metz decided to work as a fine artist full-time, working first in watercolor, then oil painting, and eventually sculpture. For the next four decades Metz divided his time between Arizona and Wyoming, while also traveling the West seeking inspiration for his paintings of Pioneers, Native Americans, Fur Trappers, Cowboys, and landscapes of the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Tetons. His paintings typically depict historical events between 1800 and 1850 that were described in journals and historical accounts.

For about eight years beginning about 2003, Metz focused his work on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Using their journals, he followed the Expedition’s route, visiting the places they went to, always at the same time of the year. The result was a book titled, “Improbable Journey--Lewis & Clark’s Journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and Return--May 22, 1804-September 20, 1806,” which is illustrated with his paintings and augmented with his personal reflections, as well as an historical account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition written by Dr. Raymond Weinhold.

THE BENJAMIN BONNEVILLE EXPEDITION - 1832 Oil on Canvas 35 ¾ x 48 ½ inches