A longtime resident of Pennsylvania, Robert Rasely was born in 1950, and grew up in Stroudsburg. He trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art from 1978 to 1982, studying with Will Barnet, Arthur DeCosta, Sidney Goodman, and Henry Pearson. In 1981 he received the William Emlen Cresson Scholarship, which allowed him to study in the Netherlands and Italy. The winner of numerous awards, Rasely was prolific during his relatively short career. Rasely was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco and Allan Stone Gallery, New York, and was included in group exhibitions at the Bruce Museum, Greenwich and the National Academy of Design, New York.
A synthesis of Surrealism, Baroque, Grotesque, and Italian Renaissance, Rasely’s paintings envision an altered netherworld, with dreamlike interiors and landscapes of ambiguous organisms. Quirky and nostalgic, though at times affected by a prevailing sense of unease, Rasely’s work combines the manic characteristics of a Bosch inferno with the delicate handling of Dutch vanitas paintings. What appears to be allusions to spirituality and holy significance are not overt allegories, but rather avenues and portals to engage the subconscious. Using fine brushes, hand-ground pigments, and a delicate touch, his lightly glazed oil-on-panel renderings of chimerical scenes and obscure symbols create a surreal atmosphere. Rasely's imagery of sacred hearts, birds, wells, innards, and decaying fruit challenges the viewer to find a concealed meaning within each painting. To wander through his enigmatic landscapes is to search the subconscious for the significance of life, and for the nature of beauty and ugliness.
Auction Results Robert Rasely

Robert Rasely
Silence in Advance of a Grace Note (An Intimist's Sensibility of the Scarcity of True Poets)
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result $7,500

Robert Rasely
Hill Picture No. 3; Hill Picture No. 4 (Horn of Plenty) (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $2,600

Robert Rasely
Scent of Luna Rose (Playing a Weak Hand Sublimely Well)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,625

Robert Rasely
Twilight on Cuckoo Island - A Tourist Pauses to Catch his Breath - Blushing, The Line Where Shadows Shift (Pike County Memoirs) and Between the Wolf and the Dog (three works)
estimate: $1,500–2,500
result $1,500

Robert Rasely
Pedagogical Landscape; The Lost Line (Beware of Falling Saviors) (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,430

Robert Rasely
Our Second Coming Made Stones Sing Like Birds; Within the Precincts of Heaven (Serenely Frenetic) (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,408

Robert Rasely
Rumination - A Conditioned Rebelliousness
estimate: $800–1,200
result $1,375

Robert Rasely
Untitled; Shine of the Multiplying Miracles (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,188

Robert Rasely
The Oozy Weeds Above Me Twist; Quanto si Spende per Entrare? (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,170

Robert Rasely
The Mystery & Power of Science; Untitled (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,105

Robert Rasely
Icons of a Private Faith; Untitled (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,105

Robert Rasely
Blessing of the Harvest; Untitled Still-life with 2 Tendrils and a Japanese Lantern (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,063

Robert Rasely
Ceremony; Treasures from the Candy House (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,063

Robert Rasely
Celery Hall (Series October); Dragged by the Force of an Inner Tide (two works)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result $1,000