Ary Stillman
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Ary Stillman (February 13, 1891 – January 28, 1967) was a representational and abstract
Russian-American Russian Americans are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to those that settled in the 19th-century Russian possessions in what is now Alaska. Russia ...
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
born in Hresk near
Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...
,
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. He excelled in art as a youth, and after graduating from school he was accepted into the Imperial School of Art in
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.


Immigration to the United States

Stillman
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d to the
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after less than two years at the Imperial School, landing in
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,
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at the age of 16. He worked in a local jewelry store to pay the bills, but spent every moment he could painting. After a short stint at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
, Ary once again was on the move, relocating to
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in 1919 at the age of 28. In New York, he studied at the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
(the predecessor of what is now the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts).


The Paris years

Never one to let grass beneath his feet, Ary once again moved in 1921, this time to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he lived and worked for 12 years. He experienced commercial and artistic success in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, including a one-man show at the Galerie
Bernheim-Jeune Bernheim-Jeune gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in Paris. Opened on Rue Laffitte in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim (1839-1915), friend of Delacroix, Corot and Courbet, it changed location a few times before settling on Avenue Matignon. ...
and regular exhibits at the Salon d'Automne, Salon des Echanges
1932
, Salone National des Beaux-Arts and the Salon de Tulleries. Although his work had been largely objective until the early 1930s, a careful study of his early art reveals the roots of his later abstract work and shows his interest in the artistic arrangement of shapes to convey a subjective meaning.


The Holocaust triggers a move towards abstract art

Ary Stillman returned to
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in 1933 as a successful and well-known artist. Among other galleries, from 1935-1937 Ary exhibited at the Guild Art Gallery owned and directed by Margaret Lefranc. His work during this time became more subjective (although still representational). At this time Ary became more concerned with his interpretation of the deeper inner content of his subject, and less interested with its objective outer form. When the horrors of the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
were revealed, Ary abruptly shifted his focus to abstract works, and by 1948, his work was completely non-objective. During the early 1950s Ary had a one-person show every year at the
Bertha Schaefer Gallery Bertha Schaefer (1895–1971) was an American designer and gallery director, she was known for her furniture designs, and as an interior designer. Biography Schaefer was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1895. Her father Emil Schaefer was a re ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Later life

In the mid-1950s after becoming almost blind in one eye and losing his treasured
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studio to city developers, Ary became depressed. He couldn’t seem to find the right environment to help him out of his depression, trying
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
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and
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before moving to
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in early 1957. He lived and worked in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
for five years, returning to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and settling in
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(where his sister lived), where he lived out the rest of his days. Ary Stillman died in 1967. Upon his death, the Stillman-Lack
/span> foundation was found, in accordance with his instructions, to preserve his work and make it available.


Ary Stillman at Columbia University

In 2010 Columbia University received from the Stillman-Lack Foundation a collection of art works by Stillman, making Columbia the largest international repository of his works. Of the ninety painting and drawings donated to the University, twenty-five have been allocated as gifts to graduating doctoral candidates in the Department of Art History and Archaeology who are recipients of a Stillman fellowship. The remaining sixty-five paintings, drawings, watercolors, and prints are part of the University art collection, housed in and stewarded by Art Properties, Avery Library.


References


External links


“The art of Ary Stillman”
Chron, Sept. 4, 2008. *
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Columbia University Libraries. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stillman, Ary 1967 deaths 1891 births 20th-century American painters 20th-century Russian painters American male painters American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Belarusian Jews Jewish American artists Russian male painters Modern painters 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male artists 20th-century Russian male artists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States