Rodger Gaston; Portrait Artist and Curator

Rodger Gaston, a portrait artist whose work was accepted at an Ohio museum in the 1940s, died at his Oxnard home this month after a brief illness. He was 76.

Born in Cincinnati, Gaston spent nearly his entire life in the arts community, curating exhibits, lecturing at art seminars and studying in private studios and colleges.

Gaston launched his art career in 1939, taking evening classes at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. His work was published in the school recruitment catalogue and exhibited at a local museum, earning him a scholarship for continued study by the Cincinnati Art Museum Assn.

In 1949, his work, “The Beechwoods,” was accepted at the Dayton Museum in Ohio. He later studied at the Art Center College of Design and enrolled at the Sergei Bongart School of Art in Los Angeles, where he studied until 1985.

Gaston held memberships at the Portrait Club of New York, the American Portrait Society and the National Portrait Institute, through which he participated in seminars across the country.

In 1985, Gaston was the curator for the art show sponsored by the Black History Committee of Point Mugu and the city of Oxnard.

Arrangements are under the direction of Charles Carroll Funeral Home in Ventura.