Jim Dine

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Dine, Jim (1935– ). American painter, printmaker, experimental artist, and poet, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both his father and his grandfather were storekeepers whose stock included painting materials. He studied at the University of Cincinnati, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Ohio University, Athens, where he graduated in 1957. In 1959 he moved to New York and quickly became one of the pioneers of Happenings and then—in the early 1960s—one of the most prominent figures in American Pop art (he also made an impact in England, where he lived 1967–71). His Pop canvases were vigorously handled in a manner recalling Abstract Expressionism, but he often attached real objects to them—generally everyday items such as clothes and household appliances (including a kitchen sink). Characteristically the objects were Dine's personal possessions and his work often has a strong autobiographical flavour. In addition to such assemblages, he also made free-standing works and environments, but since his return to the USA in 1971 he has concentrated more on conventional two-dimensional work, especially drawings (he has written and illustrated several books of poetry) and prints. His style, too, has become more traditionally figurative, under the influence of Kitaj. He has made lithographs and screenprints, but his favourite printmaking medium is etching: ‘Dine prefers not to draw directly on the plate, making instead meticulous preparatory drawings which are transferred photographically or by tracing. The image is often considerably reworked, surface tone is elaborately built up, and finally, in some cases, the plate is reworked altogether and used for a different composition’ ( Frances Carey and Antony Griffiths, American Prints 1879–1979, 1980).

Dine, Jim (b Cincinnati, 16 June 1935). American painter, printmaker, experimental artist, and poet. In 1959 he was one of the pioneers of happenings and in the early 1960s he became one of the most prominent figures in American Pop art (he also made an impact in England, where he lived 1967–71). His Pop canvases were vigorously handled in a manner recalling Abstract Expressionism, but he often attached real objects to them—generally everyday items such as clothes and household appliances (including a kitchen sink). Characteristically the objects were Dine's personal possessions and his work often has a strong autobiographical flavour. In addition to such assemblages, he also made free-standing works and environments, but since the mid-1970s he has concentrated more on traditional two-dimensional work, especially drawings (he has written and illustrated several books of poetry) and prints.

Dine, Jim (1935– ). American painter, printmaker, experimental artist, and poet. In 1959 he was one of the pioneers of happenings and in the early 1960s he became one of the most prominent figures in American Pop art (he also made an impact in England, where he lived 1967–71). His Pop canvases were vigorously handled in a manner recalling Abstract Expressionism, but he often attached real objects to them—generally everyday items such as clothes and household appliances (including a kitchen sink). Characteristically the objects were Dine's personal possessions and his work often has a strong autobiographical flavour. In addition to such assemblages, he also made free-standing works and environments, but since the mid-1970s he has concentrated more on traditional two-dimensional work, especially drawings (he has written and illustrated several books of poetry) and prints.