Jay Backstrand was born in 1934 in Salem, Oregon. He took education seriously and sought various forms of it in his early years, looking for the right match, and attending Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Boulder (Colorado), Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), and the Slade School, University of London on a Fulbright Fellowship. The school with arguably the largest impact on his career was PNCA, where he worked as a part-time teacher of painting and life drawing between 1975 and 1986. 

Even amidst his teaching duties, Backstrand always made sure to prioritize his studio work. Backstrand’s studio was a renovated mom-and-pop grocery store on NE Alberta Street in Portland. He was one of the first artists to occupy this now lively artistic area in Portland’s northeast. He often shared his studio space with friends. Sharing what he had with his loved ones was always a priority for Backstrand.

In the 1960s Backstrand began to pursue art with a vested interest in cultivating a particular style. In an interview with the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies team he described his inspirations during this period of his life: Francis Bacon, Rene Magritte, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Susan Sontag, coffee houses, and cigarettes. He incorporates this mix of film, stage, and real life into his works which merge different visual elements to create a cohesive whole. Truly, his works bear his unique mark. 

As he moved into the 1980s, in the same aforementioned interview, Backstrand states how his mind was opened when reading works by psychoanalyst Alice Miller and cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. In particular, he saw poignancy in Becker’s book The Denial of Death, a book which he spoke about in an interview on the occasion of his 1984 ten-year retrospective at Marylhurst College (Jay Backstrand: Paintings, 1977-1983), emphasizing how modern society tamps down all thoughts of death rather than coming to terms with it. Backstrand thought a great deal about Becker’s book and seemingly found peace with the concept of his own mortality and the inevitability of death which he then began to incorporate into his art. Reading had a very large impact on his art. Despite having dyslexia he was quite the intellectual man with a formidable memory and never let his difficulties with reading stifle his curiosity.

Backstrand was firmly an Oregon-based artist, spending most of his life here and contributing heartily to the state’s artistic community. He helped to co-found the Portland Center for the Visual Arts alongside his friends and other popular local artists Mel Katz and Michele Russo. This center was one of the first alternative spaces for artists in the country at the time of its founding and was instrumental in introducing contemporary artistic practices on a more democratized level to artists in Portland and surrounding areas. Founded in 1972, the center hosted avant-garde performances and installations over the course of its 15 year tenure. Financial difficulties forced the Portland Center for Visual Arts to shut down in 1987.

Many institutions and grant organizations have recognized Backstrand’s artistic prowess over the years. He was the recipient of numerous grants including prestigious awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Arts Foundation.  His works are in the collections of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the National Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. His works toe the line of being understandable and not understandable, rational and irrational, surreal and abstract. All testify to his skill and individuality as an artist. 

Close friend and fellow artist Sherrie Wolf recounts: “Jay was always a good friend to have coffee with, he loved to hear what everybody was up to and had many opinions. He kept us laughing many times with his good sense of humor and unique personality. His knowledge and ability to see what was going on in the visual arts was astounding”. At the moment, Backstrand’s art is part of an exhibition at the Oregon Historical Society about Oregon’s 20th-century artists titled Fountain of Creativity: Oregon’s 20th Century Artists and the Legacy of Arlene Schnitzer.

Jay Backstrand was a beloved member of the Oregon art scene, held dear on a personal level to many. He is preceded in death by his daughter Karen. He will be missed by his loved ones, friends, family, and Oregon’s artistic community.