FMU to name downtown art gallery after late professor Steven F. Gately

Francis Marion University plans to honor the late Professor Steven F. Gately by naming the University Place Gallery in downtown Florence in his honor.

FMU President Dr. Fred Carter made the announcement during a memorial service at the FMU Performing Arts Center on Monday. Carter said he will recommend the naming of the gallery to the executive committee of the University’s Board of Trustees, who will vote on the measure at its March 1 meeting.

Gately, who taught at FMU from 1973, passed away suddenly on November 12, 2021 at the age of 74.

“Steve was the longest serving member of FMU’s Fine Arts faculty. His work impacted the lives of thousands of students and colleagues over nearly five decades,” Carter said. “At his own exhibition this past fall, he reiterated his enjoyment of teaching and his intention to do so as long as possible. It is fitting that Steve’s name on the gallery in perpetuity will recognize his many contributions to the university and our students.”

Gately joined Francis Marion in 1973, just two years after the university’s founding. At the time of his death, he was an associate professor of Visual Arts and the coordinator of FMU’s Visual Arts programs.

Some of Gately’s work from his nearly 50 years at FMU were on display at the University Place Gallery, located at 142 N. Dargan St., this past fall. His exhibit concluded on October 8, a little over a month before his passing.

Known for his abstract artwork, Gately earned numerous prizes in local, regional, and national art competitions. His works have been displayed in over a dozen states and purchased by museums across the southeastern US. This includes the Museum of Art in Mobile, AL, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC, the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, the Columbia Museum of Art, and the State Art Collection of South Carolina. 

A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, Gately earned his Associate of Arts degree from Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Florida in 1966. He earned Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees from Florida Atlantic University and the University of South Florida, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University in 1971.

In 2006, Gately was named the C.B. and Marlene Askins Professor of Art, an endowed chair created in 1995 for further development of the artistic and cultural life at FMU and across the Pee Dee region.

His obituary, published in the Palm Beach Post, said he was “loved and respected by the University and the art world at large, and will be sorely missed by his students, faculty and friends.”

Gately is survived by his siblings, David Gately, Maureen Gately Conte, and Gloria Gately Allen, as well as two nephews, a niece, and his step-siblings.