Henrietta Milan
American Impressionist, Henrietta Milan, was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents of Czechoslovakian and Polish descent. Growing up in Chicago, Milan studied at Gage Park High School and Depaul University. Later, after moving to Texas, she attended the University of Texas at Austin. Milan currently resides in Texas with Jerry, her husband of 44 years. Milan is greatly influenced by her extensive travels throughout Europe observing French Impressionism at the Louvre, the Musee D’Orsay, and especially in Giverny, France, which she visits annually. She has displayed the intuitive talent and drive needed to fully develop her skills as a self-taught artist. Milan uses only a palette knife to create canvases rich with texture. Her fascination with light and color is used to create beautiful paintings that are filled with life and movement in the tradition of the impressionist masters. A career of coaching and competing in gymnastics seems to have contributed to the actual physical presence of her works. Energy emanates from each canvas. Her images flow easily off the canvas and eagerly into the viewer's imagination. Milan’s favorite subjects are frolicking children, florals, and serene gardens. Milan first opened her home studio to the public in 1979. Shortly after, she began showing her work in local galleries. It didn’t take long for her popularity to spread and she began sending her work coast to coast. Presently she shows in a few select fine galleries across the country. She paints from photographs and images she creates. Milan has nineteen fine art reproductions to her credit, as well as one sold-out limited edition print. Milan’s work is known worldwide with paintings in Indonesia, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, and Japan. She is a life member of the National Registry of Who’s Who publication. Giving back to her community is something Milan feels strongly about. She is personally active with several charitable organizations and gives to countless others by donating paintings, lithographs, and note cards. Her generous donations, in the tens of thousands of dollars each year benefit local, regional, and national organizations. In 1995, because of her charitable contributions, she was recognized by the mayor, senator, and congressman of her hometown with a day named in her honor.