Stamos, Theodorus

Stamos, Theodorus (1922–1997). American painter, born in New York to Greek immigrant parents, one of the minor figures of the first generation of Abstract Expressionists. He was considerably younger than most of the other members of the group, a reflection of the precocity that won him a scholarship to study sculpture at the American Artists School, New York, in 1936, when he was only 14. Soon after this he took up painting, self-taught, and he had his first one-man exhibition in 1943, at the Wakefield Gallery, New York (run by Betty Parsons). In the same year he met Gottlieb and Newman (he already knew Gorky). At this time Stamos's painting was influenced by Surrealism, often suggesting mysterious underwater forms (a characteristic he shared with Baziotes). In 1948 he travelled in Europe, and after he returned to New York his work became more abstract, although he continued to find inspiration in natural forms and ancient mythological symbols. Many of his subsequent paintings belonged to extensive series, such as the Sun-Box series, which ran through most of the 1960s and featured his most austere and geometrical works. After 1970, most of his paintings were part of his Infinity Field series, which incorporated several sub-groups, such as the Lefkada series, named after a Greek island that he often visited. Apart from paintings, Stamos made book illustrations and tapestry designs, and he taught at various art schools, including Black Mountain College (where Kenneth Noland was among his students) and the Art Students League, New York.