Cora Ogden is a contemporary realist painter who lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina. She earned a BFA in painting from the University of South Alabama in 1972, then a MA in sculpture from the University of New Mexico. The sculpture background is an important element in her paintings which are strongly three dimensional and encourage one to step into the picture plane.After university, Cora spent ten years in the corporate world, working and commuting to Manhattan. She married, had a son, and then with the support of her husband Mills began to seriously focus on her art. The Ogdens spent many years in Memphis, Tennessee where Cora built a successful following for her work. Six years ago, she and her husband decided to return to Connecticut and discovered the shoreline area.Cora has become very involved with arts organization along the shoreline, and exhibiting in local venues. She is a founding member of the Killingworth Center for the Arts where she will be teaching still life workshops. She is an Elected Artist at the Lyme Art Association and serves on its Board of Directors. Her work is held in corporate and private collections throughout the country, particularly in the South and Northeast.“The amazing quality of light here has inspired me to paint many landscapes of the Connecticut shoreline that reflect the traditions of the American Impressionists.”“In my work”, she says, “I create oases to provide us with a respite from an overwhelming, noisy, world. My goal is to connect with the viewer on a visceral level – first through light and color. With each painting I say ‘Quick, come and catch this moment with me before it is gone!’ Stand on the sand dunes at day’s end and feel the cooling of the air, the quiet that can be heard even above the surf. Walk past a room and see the startling beauty of sunlight on a flower, and how that light plays across the table. We react to these images physically first, then intellectually, often bringing our own wealth of memories to enrich the narrative. My work is figurative in the sense that the presence of a person is strongly felt. Perhaps someone was arranging flowers and was called away. Or, maybe they are standing with us experiencing the breeze rippling meadow grasses. Light, color, texture and pattern are my tools to guide viewers through the work and entice them beyond the surface of paint into the image itself– experiencing my reality – not simply observing it.”Most days you’ll find Cora in front of her easel. Years of studio work and discipline are evident in her mastery of drawing and the classical traditions of painting. She will insist, however, that the hard work is really passion. “I have to do this”, she says. “It is who I am.” Education 1972 BFA University of Southern Alabama, Mobile, AL 1974 MA University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NMProfessional ExperienceMember, Lyme Art Association Board of Directors, Lyme, CT Exhibition Chairman, LAA Elected Artist Exhibitions Lyme Art Association Instructor East Hampton Art Society, Workshops Workshops, Killingworth Center for The Arts, Killingworth, CT, Guest Lecturer, Madison Art Society Lecture and Demonstration, MPTV Juror, Annual Regional Exhibition, Madison Art Society Juror, Lyme Art Association Juror, Best of Show, Annual Members Show, Madison Art Society Director’s Advisory Committee, Brooks Museum Of Art Profile on The Arts, Interview, WNPR Radio In Memphis, TN Interviewed on Channel 10 In Memphis, TN Selected Solo Exhibitions 2005 River Views and Still Lifes, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT 2004 Featured Artist, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT 2003 New Paintings, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN 2000 Solo Exhibition, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN 1998 Recent Paintings, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN 1996 Artist Introduction, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN Selected Group Exhibition 2010 Salmagundi Art Club, New York, New York 2009 Annual Juried Exhibition, New Britain Museum, CT 2008 87th Annual Elected Artist Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT Cora Ogden and George Van Hook, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT 39th Annual Juried Exhibition, New Britain Museum, CT Along the Shoreline, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT Opening Exhibition, Cate Charles Gallery, Stonington, CT 2007 Two Women – Two Different Views, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT Featured Artist, Flowers in February Exhibition, Sherry French Gallery, New York Contemporary Realism Invitational Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery,Tulsa OK Still Life Invitational Exhibition, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT 86th Annual Elected Artist Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT 2006 Autumn Art Trail Exhibition, Chester, CT Poetry and Flowers, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY Annual Four Seasons Show, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY New England Plein Air Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT Different Viewpoints -- Two Realists, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT Florence Griswold Museum Holiday Invitational, Lyme, CT 2005 Elected Artists Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT 2004 Art of New England, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT Colors of Spring, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT Connecticut Views, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT Twelfth Annual Associates Show, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT 2003 Two Person Show, Tilting At Windmills Gallery, Manchester, VT 2002 Familiar Faces, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN 2001 Spectrum Invitational Exhibition, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN Transitions, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN 2000 Spectrum 2000, Hunter Museum Of Art, Chattanooga, TN Celebrate Life, Memphis Cancer Foundation, Memphis, TN 1999 Signature Exhibition, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN Juxtaposition: Contemporary Arts, Crafts and Antiques, Memphis, TN National Invitational Exhibition, Memphis College Of Art, Memphis, TN 1997 Spectrum Invitational Exhibition, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN Inaugural Biennial Invitational, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN Memphis Art Council Invitational Show, Memphis, TN Treasures from The Stacks, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN Warner Parks Invitational Exhibition, Nashville, TN Realism ‘97, Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VA 1995 Sixteenth National Exhibition, New Orleans Art Association, New Orleans, LA Realism ‘95 Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VA Arts Day, Memphis Council Of Art, Memphis, TN 1994 Miniatures, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN Realism ‘94, Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VA National Colored Pencil Society Exhibition, Memphis, TN 1993 Glorious Blossoms, Invitational, Memphis Botanical Gardens, Memphis, TN Memphis Art League Juried Exhibition, Memphis, TN International Exhibition, National Colored Pencil Society, Birmingham, MI Lichterman Nature Center Invitational, Memphis, TN Two Person Show, Madison Ave Art Gallery, Memphis, TN Masters of Colored Pencil, National Juried Exhibition, Santa Teresa, NM 1992 Winter Invitational Show, Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT Selected Public CollectionsIndependent Bank, Memphis, TNMorgan Keegan Financial, Placements in Corporate Headquarters and in: Nashville, TN, New York City, and Birmingham, ALFirst Tennessee Bank, Corporate Art Foundation, Memphis, TNDavidson Hotels Inc., Memphis TNNexAir, Memphis, TNRoosevelt Paper Company, Philadelphia, PAChristian and Small, Birmingham, ALFlorence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT Selected Private Collections Her work Is Featured In Collections in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida, Vermont,. Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, and Belgium. Selected Bibliography The Art Collector, August issue, 2008 Review, River Views And Still Life, The Source, July 2005 Review, New Works In Madison, The Source, 2004 Artist Profile, Shoreline Living, May 2003 Catalog, Two Person Show, Tilting At Windmills Gallery, 2003 Article, At Home In Memphis Magazine, 2003 Review, Recent Works, The Commercial Appeal, November 2000 Catalog, Hunter Museum Spectrum Exhibition, 1999 Overview of Memphis Art Scene, The Tennessean, 1999 Catalog, Memphis Biennial Exhibition, Memphis College of Art, 1999 Artist Interview, Memphis Business Journal, September, 1998 What’s New In Memphis Art?, The Commercial Appeal, March 1997 Catalog, Memphis Biennial Exhibition, Memphis College Of Art, 1997 Review, Solo Exhibition, The Commercial Appeal, October, 1996 Regional Art Overview, Southern Accents Magazine, September, 1996 Review, Miniatures Exhibition, Memphis Business Journal, 1994 The Best of Colored Pencil, Rockport Publishing, 1994