Known as "Gus" Gay, he was part of the Society of Six, a group in the Bay Area of California in the 1920s led by Selden Gile that espoused a new style of painting focused on bright colors and impressionist techniques. It was a rebellion against the prevalent sombre tonalism and decorative aesthetics of William Keith and Arthur Mathews.

Much of his painting was Cubist inspired and geometric, and he did not receive much national recognition until the 1950s. In addition to painting landscapes and coastal scenes, many of them on cigar box tops, he was also a muralist, etcher, and furniture builder.

Gay was born in Rabou, near Gap, France between Marseilles and Turin and from this background, brought a stron...