Harvey Gregory Prusheck was a Slovenian-American artist and art teacher. Prusheck was born in the village of Jelovec near Sodrazica on March 11, 1887. He only completed primary school until the age of 13 before emigrating to America. Prusheck moved to Cleveland from Yugoslavia at the age of 14.

A resident of Cleveland most of his life, Prusheck founded the Yugoslav School of art, serving as both director and instructor. He was also the director of Crafts & Art Ctr. In Cleveland.

In 1919, Prusheck married May, a Czech painter. They both had a daughter, Mariann, who was born in 1922.

Throughout his life, Prusheck won prizes at art shows in Chicago in 1930 and 1932 for several of his works. Slovene Village is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

Prusheck died in Cleveland in 1940.

 

"I am handicapped when I attempt to make use of the written word. My medium of expression consists of paint, form, and line. The expression in my work is always a reaction to the tempo, mood and thought of the world I live in-the world in general, and more particularly, the immediate location or place in which I abide. What is known as beauty, and what is known as ugliness both have their place in art. To me, they offer means of expression, regardless of the reaction they may call forth in others. They should be expressed as found. Both are necessary. Beauty may be evolved from what ordinarily is considered ugliness. The motivating spirit in my work is the hope and wish that I may help others see and feel the beauty which I see and feel. If the artist could make the whole world feel what he feels and see what he sees, his work would be a means of establishing universal understanding and harmony. Art is my religion. And I believe that there should be no quibbling over something which I consider that lofty. What I demand of myself, and what I believe should be demanded generally of the artist, is pure art-song of soul expressed in color, form and line, unpremeditated. Art, the painter's art to me, transcends all religions and unifies them. For at their core, religions are nothing but a symbol, a symbol which says that everything should be beautiful. This thought is a motivating force to me when I paint, when I try to give expression on canvas or otherwise of that which I feel is deepest in me. If the spirit of art could be disseminated widely it would be a great help in building a more noble future for the world."  -Harvey Gregory Prusheck.

Works by Harvey Gregory Prusheck