Artist Spotlight: Allen Polt

Allen Polt
‘John 3:16’ watercolor

At age six, Allen Polt’s first grade teacher, so impressed with his natural talent, arranged the artist’s first one-man show. Immediately, his gift was acknowledged and his life’s purpose defined

Polt went on to earn his Degree in Illustrating Arts from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. After graduating, he worked in New York City, drawing grease pencil sketches of featured VIPs for the Wall Street Journal. He continued his studies of drawing and painting under the direction of Frank Reilly of the Art Students League.

In 1974, Polt left Manhattan for a change of pace and found visual inspiration in the landscape of Taos, New Mexico – an art community inundated with landscapes. His masterful paintings have been featured in galleries across the Southwest, including Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Allen’s work has be featured in various museums including the Amerind Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos Art Museum, and Albuquerque Museum of Art & History. Allen is a Member of OPA-Oil Painters of America and Portrait Artists of America.

Albeit a diversity of subject matter, Polt’s heart kept returning to portraiture, which is what he enjoys doing most today. Polt’s ability to capture the essence of his subject’s personality is appreciated through commissioned work throughout the world.

He has chosen portraiture as his primary work because it is stimulating; Allen enjoys the risk of capturing the spirit and personality of a person and how it heightens his artistic awareness. Every portrait presents a new and interesting challenge.

In 2013, Allen relocated his art studio to Oro Valley, Arizona where he loves both the wonderful people and the beautiful weather.