About the Artist
Steven DeLair is an American painter whose six-decade career has evolved from accomplished contemporary realism into a vibrant exploration of figuration, abstraction, color and geometry.
Trained in fine art at the University of Nebraska, DeLair built his career through large-scale figurative oils grounded in disciplined draftsmanship and composition. His work has been represented by as many as fifteen galleries nationwide, exhibited extensively, recognized with numerous awards, and acquired by museum, corporate and private collections. He lived and worked in California and Arizona and now resides in Lincoln, Nebraska.
His recent work pushes beyond the boundaries of representation while retaining the rigor of his realist foundation. Figures fragment, repeat and dissolve; geometry creates structure and tension; saturated color carries emotion. The result moves fluidly between figuration and abstraction, observation and invention.
DeLair describes the creative process as “inherently spiritual and mysterious,” shaped by a lifelong pursuit of what he calls the “allure of visual simplicity.”
After more than six decades of painting, the discipline remains—but the possibilities have expanded.
Steven DeLair on right with art collector Michael Rivers on left.
DeLair was the featured artist at the Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, California 2004. They are standing in front of a reproduction (detail) of the featured DeLair painting. (“In the Gallery” copyright 2004 The Festival of Arts. All rights reserved.)
STEVEN DELAIR
Exhibitions, Awards and Publications
1980
Scottsdale Artists League State Show, Scottsdale, Arizona (Best of Show)
Arizona Artists Guild Fall Membership Show
Fall Art Fete, North Platte Valley Artist Guild National Juried Show, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Glendale Festival of the Arts, Glendale, Arizona (Bronze Award; Two Purchase Awards)
Scottsdale Artists League Membership Show (Ann Schreiner Memorial Award; Merit Awards)
1981
Dimensions West ’81, Tenth Regional Fine Arts Competitive Exhibition, Phoenix, Arizona
Arizona Artists Guild Spring Show, Phoenix, Arizona (Best of Show)
Fifth World Congress of Poets Benefit Invitational Exhibition, Scottsdale, Arizona
Abilene 37″ Annual Painting Competition, Abilene Fine Arts Museum, Abilene, Texas
1982-83
Selected for the Roster of Art in Public Places, Arizona Commission on the Arts
1983
Arizona Artists Guild Spring Show, Phoenix, Arizona Honorable Mention
Scottsdale Artists League 22nd State Show, Scottsdale, Arizona (Best of Show; Merit Award)
American Aid to Poland Invitational Spring Benefit and Concert, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, Arizona
Two Flags Festival of the Arts National Show; Douglas, Arizona (Merit Award)
63rd Annual National Exhibition of Paintings, The Ogunquit Art Center, Ogunquit, Maine
Art Annual Four, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Arizona Artists Guild Fall Membership Juried Exhibition; Phoenix, Arizona (Best of Show)
Glendale Festival of the Arts, 22nd Annual Open Juried Show; Glendale, Arizona (Best of Show)
Scottsdale Artists League Fall Membership Show; Scottsdale, Arizona
1984
Art for Life ’84, Arizona Kidney Foundation Women’s Board, Scottsdale Center for the Arts; Scottsdale, Arizona
Arizona Artists Guild Spring Juried Show, Valley Bank Center, Phoenix, Arizona (Purchase Award)
Queen of Hearts Guild of Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Festival of Arts Benefit Exhibition; Newport Beach, California
Associated Artists of Southport, 4th Annual National Exhibition, Franklin Square Gallery; Southport, North Carolina (Winsor Newton Honor Award)
23rd Annual Glendale Festival of the Arts; Glendale, Arizona (Best of Show and Gold Award for Painting, Best of Show and Gold Award for Graphics)
Arizona Artists Guild Fall Membership Juried Exhibition; Phoenix, Arizona (Best of Show – Juror’s Choice Purchase Award; Merit Award)
1985
Une Soiree D’Art lnvitational Benefit Exhibition and Auction, Newport Harbor Auxiliary, The Newporter, Newport Beach, California
1986
Arizona Artists Guild Winter Membership Show; Scottsdale, Arizona (Merit Award – Watercolor)
1987
Une Soiree D’Art Invitational Benefit Exhibition and Auction, Newport Harbor Auxiliary, The Newporter, Newport Beach, California
1988
The Best of the West: A Celebration of Western Art in Scottsdale, The Scottsdale Center for the Arts
1994
The Artists Magazine 1994, All Media Competition (Finalist for Oils [over 8,000 entries])
1997
Allied Artists of America, Inc., 84th Annual Exhibition, the National Arts Club; New York City, New York
1998
The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 135th Annual Exhibition of Small Paintings; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
22nd Fred Wells National Juried Exhibition, Elder Gallery, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Lincoln, Nebraska
2000
The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 137th Annual Exhibition of Small Paintings; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2004
Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, California (Featured Artist)
2010
Jacksonville State University 31st Minlworks Exhibitions; Jacksonville, Alabama
Salmagundi Annual Juried Painting and Sculpture Exhibition for non-members, Salmagundl Club; New York City, New York
2011
24th Annual Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College; Rhinelander, Wisconsin (Patron Award)
2013
Nebraska Artists Revolving Showcase at Assurity Life Insurance, Lincoln, Nebraska
2018
University of Nebraska Lincoln, Eisentrager-Howard Gallery Alumni Exhibition 5/1/18 to 8/18
One Man Shows: Galleries
Selected galleries had multiple one-man shows.
Leslie Levy Gallery, Scottsdale,Arizona
Magadini Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Challis Gallery, Laguna Beach, California.
Esther Wells Collection, Laguna Beach, California
Gallery at the Courtyard, Palm Springs, California
Woodbridge Gallery, Gualala, California
Kiechel Fine Art, Lincoln, Nebraska
One Man Shows
Nebraska Wesleyan University Figurative Exhibition (2001)
Two Man Shows
Esther Wells Collection, Laguna Beach, California
Suzanne Brown Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Duley-Jones Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Selected Publications, Articles and Notices
The Arizona Republic
The Los Angeles Times
The Orange County Register
The Scottsdale Daily Progress
The Lincoln Journal Star
The Laguna Beach Pilot
Laguna News Post
Phoenix Magazine
Phoenix Home and Garden
Fine Art and Antiques International
Southwest Art (Interiors Article, April 2001)
Art California
Palm Springs Life
Arizona Style
Exploring Painting, Textbook by Gerald Brommer (1988)
Desert Style, Palm Springs
Scottsdale Magazine
Outlook, Mendocino, Ca.
Arizona Arts and Lifestyle
Art News (New York)
Selected Museum, Corporate and Other Collections
Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln Nebraska
La Prenda Wines, Sonoma, California
Coldwell Banker, (former) World Trade Center, New York City (10 paintings)
Bank One, Phoenix, Arizona
Salt River Project, Tempe, Arizona
Desert Samaritan Hospital, Mesa, Arizona
Lewis & Associates, Los Angeles, California
Festival of the Arts,Laguna Beach, California
Assurity Life Insurance, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hutchinson Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska
First Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln Nebraska
Faith Lutheran School, Lincoln Nebraska
Kiechel Gallery Lincoln Nebraska 2011-2018
Wall Space Gallery, Lincoln, NE November 2024