Find more facts and information on our topic page about Clyfford Still

Still, Clyfford

A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art

Still, Clyfford (1904–1980). American painter, one of the major figures of Abstract Expressionism but the one least associated with the New York art scene. He was born in Grandin, North Dakota, and studied at Spokane University (graduating in 1933) and Washington State College, Pullmann, where he taught until 1941. After working in war industries in California, 1941–3, he taught for two years at the Richmond Professional Institute, Richmond, Virginia. He then lived briefly in New York (1945–6), where he had a one-man exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1946. Although he stood somewhat apart from the other Abstract Expressionists, he was friendly with Mark Rothko (they had met in 1943), the two men sharing a sense of almost mystical fervour about their work. In 1946–50 he taught at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (see BAY AREA FIGURATION), then lived in New York, 1950–61. By the time he returned to New York Still had created his mature style and had a rapidly growing reputation. He was one of the pioneers of the very large, virtually monochromatic painting. But unlike Newman and Rothko, who used fairly flat, unmodulated pigment, Still used heavily loaded, expressively modulated impasto in jagged forms. His work can have a raw aggressive power, but in the 1960s it became more lyrical.

In 1961 Still moved to Maryland to work in tranquillity away from the art world. Scorning galleries, dealers, and critics, and rarely exhibiting, he considered himself something of a visionary who needed solitude to give expression to his high spiritual purpose, and he gained a reputation for cantankerousness and pretentiousness. His comment on his painting 1953 (Tate Gallery, London, 1953) is typical of his high-flown prose: ‘there was a conscious intention to emphasize the quiescent depths of the blue by the broken red at its lower edge while expanding its inherent dynamic beyond the geometries of the constricting frame … In addition, the yellow wedge at the top is a re-assertion of the human context—a gesture of rejection of any authoritarian rationale or system of politico-dialectical dogma.’ Still presented large groups of his paintings to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Art, and his work is represented in many other major collections.

Find more facts and information related to the .
© A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art 1999, originally published by Oxford University Press 1999.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Oui love New York (and Paris) ; Oui love New York (and Paris) By JOHN ZEAMAN , SPECIAL TO THE RECORD...Section: BETTER LIVING Edtion: All Editions PARIS/NEW YORK: DESIGN FASHION CULTURE 1925-1940 Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. 212-534-1672 or mcny.org. Schedule... Read more
	Actress enjoyed long night in New York ; ...Dennings during a telephone interview from San Francisco. The level of her voice goes up and down...movie follows Norah on a wild night in New York, where she meets Nick (Michael Cera of...she felt a magical quality working in New York at such late hours. "I had an incident... Read more
	AIM Launches First Ever Boycott The New York Times Campaign & Website ; ...launch of its new website, Boycott The New York Times(http://www.BoycottNYT.com). AIM, which has monitored The New York Timesfor nearly 40 years, is encouraging...Feder, the editor of the Boycott The New York Timeswebsite. The Timespersistent bias... Read more
	Crain's New York Business and Workforce Management Present: Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy ; ...Marino Organization, +1-212-889- 0808 NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Concerned...light of this critical situation, Crain's New York Businessand Workforce Managementare joining...conference on Wednesday, October 29, at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel. This timely event... Read more
	Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival Presented by Food & Wine and Travel+Leisure Magazines Columbus Day Weekend (October 9- 12, 2008) ; ...robininsleyassociates.com, for the 2008 Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival FoodBankForNewYorkCityandShareOurStrength ToBenefitFromThisStarStuddedWeekend NEW YORK, Oct. 8/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time New York City will play host to one of the most... Read more
	New York Bar is my dream scene; Your Bar Nick Peet visits the New York Bar & Grill, on Allerton Road.(Features) ; ...be grief) I felt when I walked into the new York Bar last weekend. It's had a refurb of...well as being a lively watering hole, New York also boasts a fine restaurant with nothing...displays the versatility of the new look New York. Its ability to change face - from American-sty... Read more
	Kimberly Olofsen steps in Joel Dovev's shoes as managing director of San Francisco sketch-comedy troupe Killing My Lobster, as Dovev moves to New York City.(Brief article) ; Kimberly Olofsen steps in Joel Dovev's shoes as managing director of San Francisco sketch-comedy troupe Killing My Lobster, as Dovev moves to New York City. Playwright-actor-educator Olofsen was most recently a project assistant at Intersection for the Arts. Read more
	STATES STEP UP; NEW YORK, OTHER STATES LEAD FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING.(Opinion)(Editorial) ; ...what 10 Northeastern states, including New York, have done to tackle global warming. The...participated in the Sept. 25 auction. New York will be ready to participate in the next...about a third of them being purchased in New York. That's somewhat higher than the amount... Read more
	The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Reduces Prime Rate to 4.50 Percent ; ...412 236 0082, ron.sommer@bnymellon.com NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) has reduced...effective October 8, 2008. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial... Read more
	San Francisco, SFO, Airport Map ; 00-00-0000 San Francisco, SFO, Airport Map Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	Clyfford Still Clyfford Still Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was one of the pioneers...other styles and most other artists. Clyfford Still was born in 1904 in Grandin, North...Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Clyfford Still's career focused on human aspiration... Read more
	Still, Clyfford Still, Clyfford ( b Grandin, N. Dak., 30 Nov...time he returned to New York, Still had created his mature style...flat, unmodulated pigment, Still used heavily loaded, expressively...became more lyrical. In 1961 Still moved to Maryland to work in... Read more
	Clyfford Still Clyfford Still 1904-80, American painter, b. Grandin, N.Dak. Still was a pioneer in the...his work (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979). Author not available, STILL, CLYFFORD. , The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008 Read more
	Clyfford Still ...characterized within the 'colour-field' subset of Abstract Expressionism. He used thickly applied, opaque paint (impasto) in expressively modulated, jagged forms to portray raw, aggressive power. Clyfford Still Clyfford Still Clyfford Still Read more
	Still, Clyfford Still, Clyfford (1904–80). American...time he returned to New York, Still had created his mature style...flat, unmodulated pigment, Still used heavily loaded, expressively...became more lyrical. In 1961 Still moved to Maryland to work in... Read more

See all related entries