Barbara Gallagher, Artist, dead at 72
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By Robyn Bradley Litchfield
Montgomery Advertiser
Montgomery artist Barbara Gallagher was perhaps best known for her
paintings of angels.
Barbara Gallagher died Thursday at age 72.
-- Advertiser
More info:
BARBARA GALLAGHER
Background: Born Aug. 7, 1933, in Tuscaloosa. She and her family moved
to Montgomery in 1967.
Family: She is survived by her husband, Bob Gallagher, and their five
children, Linda Gallagher Peterson, and Kim, Jamie, John and Rob
Gallagher
Galleries: In 1976, she opened the Green Garden Gallery on South Court
Street. It was the city's second privately owned art gallery. From 1990
to 1992, she closed the gallery to focus on her own work. In 1997, she
moved the gallery to 1041 E. Fairview Ave., where it remained until
August 2004.
Barbara Gallagher had passion for life. She expressed it by painting
angels and embracing people.
Her artwork gained national attention. Her kindness built lasting
friendships.
Those friends took time Friday to remember Gallagher, who died Thursday
at a health-care facility in Clanton. She was 72.
The cause of death was kidney cancer, said Rob Gallagher, the youngest
of her five children. She was diagnosed with the illness last year.
"My mother was a caring and loving person, and everyone fell in love
with her once they met her," he said. "She would do anything to help
you."
One of Montgomery's best-known artists, Gallagher was not only active
in the local arts scene but also in the community. She often donated
paintings to Montgomery AIDS Outreach, the American Cancer Society, the
American Heart Association and other charitable organizations.
Her work can be found in galleries and homes throughout Alabama and the
nation, said Georgine Clarke, visual arts program manager with the
Alabama State Council on the Arts.
"She is well-known, and her work has sold very successfully," Clarke
said. "Her art is about the color. And these colors, these shapes,
these pieces in general, represent celebration."
Gallagher cherished art and life, Clarke said. Even a debilitating
stroke in June 1995 couldn't keep her from doing what she loved.
Without the use of her right arm and leg, she learned how to paint her
angels, flowers and other subjects with her left hand.
Gallagher was still painting a few weeks ago when fellow artist John
Wagnon and his wife, Judy, visited her in Clanton.
"Barbara was one of the best artists that Alabama has ever had, without
question. But I always thought she had one overriding genius: a talent
for making friends," he said. "I don't know of anyone who didn't like
her."
A service for Gallagher is tentatively set for Monday at St. Bede
Catholic Church.