About Bruno Quinson
BIOGRAPHY
In 1996, after 36 years in book publishing I retired from the business and decided I wanted to be involved directly in the arts. Not just serve on some boards as a trustee, but actually physically participate in the arts.
During the summer of 1996 I signed up for a charcoal drawing course at the Interlaken School of Art, now known as IS183, located just outside of Stockbridge, MA. I had a wonderful instructor name Rosalind Gordon who pushed all the right buttons and enthused me to continue my art education at the 92nd Street Y in NYC where I took an anatomy drawing course as well as an introductory course in watercolor. I immediately fell in love with watercolor. I loved the transparancy of the medium. I loved the way the pigments moved when you painted wet on wet and how you could control a fine line when you painted with a dry brush. I loved the fact that I had to think through how I was going to apply the paint on the paper and diligently plan ahead. I loved the challenge of watercolor.
After 3 years at the Y where classes ran just once a week I transferred over to The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts located on East 89th Street where I still paint 4 days a week from 9AM to noon. I paint in a studio with another 14 watercolorists. Twice a week we have an instructor but we all work independently. The instructor works with each one of us separately as needed. It is a wonderful atmosphere.
For the summer I have built a studio in my home in the Berkshires where I try to go work at least 5 days a week for approximately 3 hours at a time. Painting just puts me into another world.
I have had 2 one-man exhibitions in Norfolk, CT, and one at the Barrington Stage Company theatre lobby in Pittsfield, MA, many group shows at the New Marlborough, MA Meeting House, at the Century Association in NYC, the School of Fine Arts National Academy Museum and school of Fine Arts NYC where in 2009 I was awarded the REVA Paul prize for my landscape painting "Winter Tennis".
I sign my paintings "Grand-Pere Quinson" to remind my grandchildren and great grandchildren when they do come along of my French heritage.
My book publishing career began at Simon & Schuster in 1960 after I graduated from Williams College and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After 5 years I went to Golden Books for another 5 years and then became President of Larousse & Co., a subsidiary of Librairie Larousse in Paris, France. I stayed 12 years then moved to Macmillan Publishing as President of its General Books and Reference Division. In 1988 I became CEO, Publisher and President of Henry Holt & Co a subsidiary of the Holtzbrinck Publishing empire out of Stuttgart, Germany from which I retired in 1996.
Today I serve as a Trustee of the Museum of the City of New York, the Leopold Schepp Foundation, Graywolf Publishing. I have also served on a number of other boards, among them, the Eudora Welty Foundation, Manhattan Theater Club, the Robert Frost Place and the Lycee Francais de New York to name just a few.
Bruno A. Quinson resides in New York City and the Berkshires.