Ary Stillman's abstract paintings bring together
the ordered structure of Cubism and the expressionistic, ritualistic
themes that the American Abstract Expressionists inherited from
Surrealism. These polarities, successfully reconciled in Stillman's
work, reflect his years in Paris as well as his time spent studying
Native American and Mexican cultures. Born in 1891 in Hretzk,
Byelorussia, Stillman immigrated with his family to Sioux City,
Iowa, in 1907. After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago
and then at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students
League in New York, Stillman moved to Paris. In 1922, he established
a studio in Montparnasse and studied with Cubist painter André
Lhote.
During his years in Paris, Stillman exhibited regularly
in the Paris salons and traveled extensively in Europe, Africa,
and the Near East. In 1933, he returned to New York City, where
he worked on the Federal Art Project. In 1945, he exhibited his
first abstract composition; his show at the Macbeth Gallery in
1946 was entirely non-figurative. Like the work of many other
Abstract Expressionists, his abstract work reflected a greater
concern with inner reality, mystery, and ritual. Stillman worked
in New York until 1955 and in 1957 moved to Cuernavaca, Mexico,
where he lived until his failing health forced him to return to
the United States. He died in Houston, Texas, in 1967.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Stillman's expressionistic
paintings bear titles like Snake Spirit (1960) that reflect his
interest in Mayan and Incan civilizations. His heavy impastos
and rapid, layered brushwork give his work from this period an
evocative, primordial quality. Stillman had also been influenced
by the religious dances of Peblo Indians in New Mexico during
a visit in 1929, and many of his later abstractions capture the
essence of human forms in motion with their stylized, interlocking
silhouettes.
Stillman had many solo exhibitions throughout his
career, including one in 1928 at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris.
In New York, he had annual shows at the Bertha Schaefer Gallery
from 1949 to 1954. He also participated in numerous museum exhibitions,
such as the Whitney Museum annuals and exhibitions at the Corcoran
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and at the Brooklyn Museum.
A retrospective exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine
Arts in Houston in 1972. His work is included in museum collections
throughout the United States, including the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, and the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
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Composition with
Parakeet
1948
oil on canvas
20 x 16
Foundation Collection |
Allegretto
1949
oil on canvas
13 1/3 x 16
Private Collection, CA |
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Unnamed
1954
oil on canvas
36 x 44
Private Collection, CA |
Plaza #6
c. 1948-54
charcoal and pastel on paper
13 5/8 x 9 7/8
Foundation Collection, TX |
Exhibited
Artwork Titles |
Composition with Parakeet |
Gold and Blue |
Allegretto |
Rhythms in Gray |
Movement in Space |
Unnamed |
Priscilla |
Plaza #6 |
Plaza #10 |
Sayville |
Parnasse |