Bernard Gilardi was born in Wisconsin Rapids in 1920 and died in 2008. Gilardi created about 400 paintings in the basement of his Milwaukee home over a 45 year period. He did not sell or exhibit his work. Despite having little formal art education, Gilardi had always intended to be an artist. He worked full time for a lithography company while supporting his family but also worked consistently on his art. His work was first shown publicly in 2010 at The Portrait Society Gallery. In 2012 Gilardi was the subject of a retrospective at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Lawrence University also presented a solo exhibition of his religious paintings in 2012 and his work is now in major museum collections, including the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin; the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Museum of Wisconsin Art.
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