Liam O'Gallagher

Liam O'Gallagher (October 2, 1917 – December 4, 2007) was an avant-garde sound artist, painter and teacher whose San Francisco studio became an early gathering place for Beat writers and poets in the 1950s. He was integral to the creation of foundations and centers for human growth, including Feathered Pipe Ranch, The Ojai Foundation and the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts.

Early life

Born William Gallagher in Oakland, California, the tenth of eleven children, the artist adopted the more traditional rendering of his name after visiting relatives in Ireland.

Centers for human growth

In the early 1970s, O'Gallagher turned his attention to creating social change through bringing like-minded people together. He was central in creating Feathered Pipe Ranch, working with Jermaine "Jerry" Duncan and India Supera. Arranging the sale of Bear Creek Lodge, which had belonged to Robert Rheem's parents, he assisted in transforming it into a center for human growth, with Feathered Pipe Ranch evolving into an early yoga center. In 1973, O'Gallagher and Rheem returned to Ojai, transforming the former High Valley Theater into a home and studio and spending time with their friends Rosalind Rajagopal and Beatrice Wood. He convinced Rajagopal to make land available for a new venture, which was originally connected with The Human Dimensions Institute, but evolved into the Ojai Foundation when he brought Joan Halifax from New York City to become its director. Following the death of Beatrice Wood in 1998, O'Gallagher and Rheem were central to the creation of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in the artist's former home.

Later work

In the mid-1980s, O'Gallagher and Rheem settled in Santa Barbara, California, where O'Gallagher began a series of smaller canvases that were highly original, yet still concerned with non-objective painting. He wrote poetry, conceptualized a multi-media work titled The 4th World and a set of cards titled Point of Departure. This work continued until his death, at which time the paintings and his intellectual property were given to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, which has since featured the work in annual presentations.