Lawrence Montgomery holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Wayne State University with an emphasis on printmaking and painting. In 1976 he joined the Fort Mason Printmakers in San Francisco and after a period of time transitioned to painting in his home studio.
With the success of a number of shows Lawrence’s work drew the attention of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. He was then enlisted to design and paint a scenic drop for their show, Last Tango in Huahuatenang. The show traveled across the country and internationally. The drop designed and painted by Mr. Montgomery received affirmative reviews from the New York Times to the San Francisco Chronicle. The work also earned Lawrence an invitation to San Francisco’s first Theater Design Invitational Exhibit, sponsored by the Bay Area Theater Alliance & Intersection Gallery.
Enjoying both the collective effort and scale of theater, Lawrence sought out more theater work and soon found himself working at the SF Opera scene shop and becoming a member of the IATSE scenic artist local union. He became lead artist in a number of commercial shops and after a 20-year plus career of scenic painting, returned to university.
He attended San Francisco State University and earned two teaching credentials and a Masters Degree in Education. Lawrence then entered the public school classroom as an art/computer art instructor for the next 14 years. Inspired by his students and now retired from teaching, he has returned to his studio and is again working on his own paintings.
As an artist living in a country with a permanent war economy in the Anthropocene Era (during what has been labeled the Sixth Extinction) he is a firm believer that artists must respond with meaningful social content in their art to defend human dignity and human rights. To that end, currently Mr. Montgomery is working on two series of paintings entitled March to Extinction and There But For Fortune.
In 2024 Lawrence’s paintings appeared in eight juried exhibits and received three awards –
Arts Benicia, ‘Animalia’ national juried exhibit
San Francisco Women Artist Gallery, ‘Artist Choice’
The Haggin Museum, 62nd annual national juried exhibit
Marin Society of Artist, ‘California Mind’ First Place
Coos Art Museum, ‘Expressions West 2024 Honorable Mention
Coastal Art League, ‘Moments in Time’ Third Place
San Francisco Women Artist Gallery, ‘Street Life’
O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, ‘Dualities’
