Len Jagoda named May Artist of the Month

From Special Reports

The Newnan-Coweta Art Association (NCAA) has selected Len Jagoda as its featured “Artist of the Month” for May. Mr. Jagoda’s art will be featured in the entry way to Newnan City Hall until May 31st.

Mr. Jagoda’s career as an artist could have begun 40 years earlier, but his scholarship to the Cleveland Institute of Art was superseded by a “scholarship” to the U.S. Army. The two-year draft requirement extended into a seven-year career that included two tours in Vietnam and ended with the rank of captain. In college, on the G.I. bill, and then spending thirty plus years in a suit did not prevent him from being involved in many aspects of the equine world including riding hunter jumpers, breeding, training, and racing.  Eventually stress and heavy travel led to health concerns and, with his wife’s encouragement, he abandoned the business world to become what he always wanted to be: an artist. 

He started his art career by limiting himself to sculpture and drawing, to build a foundation to try to compensate for a lack of formal training. Once satisfied with this “foundation” he moved on to pastels and then oils.  His familiarity with animals (especially horses and dogs) combined with his discipline was richly rewarded. Len is the recipient of 72 awards at the national, regional, and state levels including nine Best of Show and sixteen First Place Awards.  

His works have been accepted to many exhibitions including the International Exhibition on Animals in Art and four times to the Grand National Exhibition in New York. He holds Fellow member status with the American Artists Professional League (NY), America’s oldest professional artist organization, and Juried member status with the American Academy of Equine Art (KY).  

His works can be found on display at prestigious stud farms in Lexington and in the homes of jockeys, trainers, and owners of racehorses in the US, England, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia; and have appeared on the covers of the Chronical of the Horse twice and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Len is a member of NCAA and their general meetings are held the third Monday of each month (from August through May) at the Harriet Alexander Art Center on Hospital Road at 7 p.m. An art demonstration is presented each month. Visitors and new members are always welcome.