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Born in 1963 in York, Maine, Merriam grew
up in Naples, a rural town within the vast, quiet spaces
of central Maine. One of seven children in a creative, artistic
family, he taught himself to paint at a very young age and
used his art as a method of reflective play throughout his
childhood. He studied mechanical and architectural design
at Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute. While still
in school, he applied his dimensional skills and passion
for architecture to his family’s design and construction
business. He then turned his talents to the commercial art
field working as an architectural and commercial illustrator
for a number of multi-national corporations.
 Merriam’s illustrations received numerous
awards including several Broderson awards, New England Scholastics
Press Association award (for his editorial cartooning),
and the University of New England Honorary Masters of Humane
Letters in recognition for the potential social contribution
of his work.
Yet Merriam’s true passion remained
painting the expression of his own inner vision. In 1986
Merriam shifted his focus solely to fine art and later that
year had his first solo exhibition at Abacus Gallery in
Maine. Since that time, his exhibitions throughout the United
States have received rave reviews. In 1998, Monarch Editions
published The Art of Daniel Merriam: The Impetus of
Dreams, which captured selections from a decade of
the artist’s work. In 2005 the book was inducted into
the permanent archives of the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art.
Merriam’s
work is displayed in many public collections including The
Riverside Museum of Art in California, The Gesundheit! Institute
in Virginia and the Manhattan Club in New York. Merriam
has painted covers for books by Paula Volsky and Neal Barrett
Jr., as well as for an international literary journal, Mid-American
Review. The artist’s work was used for the playbill
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
produced by the Tony® Award-winning McCarter Theatre
in New Jersey.
Daniel
Merriam has been interviewed on WCSH in Portland,
MN, KEYT in Santa Barbara, CA, and KUSI News in San Diego, CA. He has been the subject of feature articles
in numerous national publications including The World
& I, Art News, Art Business News, Arts & Antiques,
and New Art International, among others.
Daniel's books are now in the permanent library of the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art and in the archives of the National Museum of American
Illustration alongside Norman Rockwell's autobiography and first editions of
Maxfield Parrish's illustrated books. Daniel's work is in the permanent
collection at Merrill Lynch in California. |
