Roy C. Gamble (1887-1972)

Roy Charles Gamble was born on June 12, 1887, the son of George and Lena Gamble. His father, an Englishman by birth, had immigrated to the United States in 1876 and made a living as a brick mason.

Known primarily as a portrait painter, Gamble studied under Joseph Gies and John P. Wicker at the Detroit Academy of Fine Arts; in 1909 at the Art Students League in New York under Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase; and in Paris at the Julian Academy under Jean-Paul Laurens. The artist exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1910 and 1911. In 1914, shortly after his return from Europe, he was commissioned by the Detroit Free Press to do a series of six murals about the early history of Detroit. Among his best known portraits were those of Mayor Cobo and Governors Frank Murphy, William Comstock and Frank D. Fitzgerald. He also did street-scenes and landscapes. The artist was a popular member and consistent contributor to exhibitions at the Scarab Club in Detroit.

He died in Detroit on March 30, 1972.

Sources:
census records
Barrie, Dennis, Artists in Michigan, 1900-1976, A Biographical Dictionary, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1989

Submitted by Edward Bentley, researcher of Lansing, Michigan

A longtime resident artist of Michigan, he was born and died in Detroit where he painted portraits, landscapes, and genre works.