Joseph McGurl
'The Squall'

Joseph McGurl
'Drifting Buzzard Bay'

Joseph McGurl
'Elizabeth Island'

Joseph McGurl
'Breezy, Boston Harbor'

Joseph McGurl
'Lobster Boats'

Joseph McGurl
'Catboat in Cape Cod Bay'

Joseph McGurl
'Pre-Dawn Nantucket'

Joseph McGurl
'George's Island'

Joseph McGurl was born in Needham, Massachusetts, in 1958. At an early age he moved to Quincy. He grew up working with his father, James McGurl, who was a muralist and his most influential teacher. Another early influence was Ralph Rosenthal, a teacher at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Saturday Classes, which McGurl attended throughout his youth. He subsequently graduated from Massachusetts College of Art with a dual major in painting and education. He also studied in England and Italy and later with Robert Cormier in Boston.

Mr. McGurl has been elected to the Guild of Boston Artists where he was the recipient of the first place gold medallion at the annual members' show. He has also won awards from the Salmagundi Club in New York City and The Copley Society of Boston. He was the youngest member ever designated a Copley Master and has won the John Singleton Copley Award for artistic achievement.

Joseph's paintings are often seen in relationship to the great 19th century luminist painters but with a thoroughly modern approach to style and subject. His creative process is to paint small sketches of the scene on location. Back at the studio, these are re-interpreted to form the foundation for the large finished canvases. Rather than relying on photography, this method allows him to create his works based on his sketches, memory, and his imagination.

Joseph worked for a period as a yacht captain sailing throughout the East Coast and in the Caribbean. During the summer months, he cruises the coast of New England with his wife and children aboard their Down East cruiser "Atelier" which he uses as a floating studio.

After living for several years in Rhode Island Joseph, his wife Patricia and sons Max and Sean moved to Cape Cod in 1994. Their home and studio is a converted 19th century carriage house on the shore of Amrita Island. Joseph supervised and designed a significant renovation which was influenced by his interest in architecture and historic preservation and became the subject of a magazine article.

Joseph McGurl
'Lone Survivor'