In Memoriam Albert Gury

October 23, 1951 –June 25, 2026

Early in the morning of June 25, 2026, Albert Gury passed away peacefully, surrounded by friends. At the age of 74, after a full and accomplished life, he continued his extraordinary work with dedication and generosity, instructing through the last day of his final class. 

Originally from the Midwest, Gury started painting as a child, learning first from a family friend. He received his BA in Fine Arts and Humanities from Saint Louis University in 1973, studying under Tom Toner who attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). At Toner’s suggestion, Gury moved to Philadelphia at the age of 20 and enrolled at PAFA, receiving a four-year Certificate in Painting in 1976. At PAFA, he was a recipient of the William Emlen Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, along with numerous grants and honors for painting and art education. He later earned an MFA from the University of Delaware in 1992. 

A painter of the figure, landscapes, still lifes and portraits, Gury identified two major influences from his years at PAFA, the renowned instructor Arthur DeCosta, a still-life painter working within the European tradition, and the dedicated modernist Eleanor Arnett, associated with the Red Rose Girls alongside Violet Oakley. Poised between these two influences, Gury developed the expansive scope of his practice. His paintings have been exhibited at the National Academy of Design in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Washington and Lee University, the University of Pennsylvania, and galleries across the country. His work is represented at F.A.N. Gallery in Philadelphia, PA; Gallery C in Raleigh, NC; and Windham Fine Arts in Windham, NY.

Gury was deeply committed to art education. He taught painting, drawing, figure drawing, anatomy, art history, and art education for over 45 years at numerous institutions, including PAFA (1980 - 2026), University of the Arts (1981 - 2024), Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial (1983 - 2026), University of Pennsylvania (1988 - 1990), Barnes Foundation (2015 - 2026), and many others. He was designated a Master Teacher by both the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and American Artist Magazine. He was the Chair of Painting at PAFA from 2000 to 2022 and the founder and director of PAFA’s After School Studio Program, a free art program for Philadelphia-area high school students. In recent years, Gury taught workshops in Scotland and Croatia through No Boundaries Art Workshops.

He also shared his knowledge through writing, authoring three books published through Penguin-Random House, Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting (2009), Color for Painters: A Guide to Traditions and Practice (2010), and Foundations of Drawing: A Practical Guide to Art History, Tools, Techniques, and Styles (2017). He wrote numerous articles and publications for magazines and museums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe and served as a contributing editor for Per Contra: An International Journal of Art, Literature and Ideas. 

Gury maintained a life-long commitment to social justice, especially in service to the underserved and the unacknowledged. He guided community-based programming and outreach for people experiencing homelessness and participated in PAFA’s Lost Dreams on Canvas program, painting portraits of victims of gun violence in Philadelphia. He served as an advocate, foster parent, and volunteer nursing assistant for the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which provides shelter and medical care to Philadelphia’s abandoned animals. He left a personal impact on students in need, encouraging them to be their true selves, quietly securing resources for those struggling to afford supplies, and believing in students who weren’t quite ready to believe in themselves.

He leaves a legacy of care and passion that will continue to inspire across his many circles and into the future. His work lives on through his accomplished body of paintings, the thousand of cats he saved, the untold number of people he embraced, and a world made better by his having been here.

Donations in honor of his memory can be made to PAWS: https://phillypaws.org/donate/ 

An official memorial will be coordinated by PAFA in the fall 2026 semester.