Bradley Walker Tomlin

Bradley Walker Tomlin 1899-1953, American painter, b. Syracuse, N.Y., grad. Syracuse Univ. (1921). He also studied painting in London and Paris. His early work includes cover designs for Vogue and House and Garden magazines. In the 1930s and 1940s he developed consistently toward abstraction. His late, entirely abstract, works are mosaics of ribbonlike, calligraphic strokes. Among his paintings in museums are Still Life (Whitney Mus. of American Art, New York City), Number 20, 1949 (Mus. of Modern Art, New York City), and Number 10, 1952-53 (Munson-Williams-Proctor Inst., Utica, N.Y.).

Bibliography: See study by J. Baur (1957).

Tomlin, Bradley Walker (b Syracuse, NY, 19 Aug. 1899; d New York, 11 May 1953). American painter. In his early work he experimented with a variety of styles, but he systematically destroyed a good deal in the 1930s when he began to question himself as an artist. In the late 1930s he began to find a more individual path with semi-abstract still-lifes that blend elements of Cubism and Surrealism. By 1947 his work had become completely abstract and in the last years of his life he developed into one of the minor masters of Abstract Expressionism. His paintings of this time characteristically feature a rich but coolly coloured all-over pattern of cryptic dashes, dots, and crosses (Number 9: In Praise of Gertrude Stein, MoMA, New York, 1951).

Tomlin, Bradley Walker (1899–1953). American painter. He was born in Syracuse, New York, and studied at Syracuse University, 1917–21. In 1922 he moved to New York City and for the next ten years earned his living mainly as a commercial artist. During this time he made three journeys to Europe: 1923–4, 1926–7, and 1928. The Depression affected his commercial work, so he turned to teaching (at various schools) from 1932 to 1941. In his early work he experimented with a variety of styles, but he destroyed many paintings in the 1930s when he began to question himself as an artist. In the late 1930s he began to find a more individual path with semi-abstract still-lifes that blend elements of Cubism and Surrealism (Still-Life, Whitney Museum, New York, 1939). By 1947 his work had become completely abstract and in the last years of his life he developed into one of the minor masters of Abstract Expressionism. His paintings of this time characteristically feature a rich but coolly coloured all-over pattern of cryptic dashes, dots, and crosses (Number 9: In Praise of Gertrude Stein, MOMA, New York, 1951).