Clyfford Still

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Clyfford Still (1904–1980): A short, easy-to-understand overview

Who he was
Clyfford Still was an American painter and a leading figure in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists. He helped shape a new way of painting after World War II, focusing on large, non-representational color fields and bold, energetic brushwork.

Early life
- Born November 30, 1904, in Grandin, North Dakota.
- Grew up in Spokane, Washington, and Bow Island, Alberta, Canada.
- Briefly studied in New York in 1925.
- Attended Spokane University (1926–1933) and earned an MFA at Washington State University (1935). He taught there afterward.
- Co-founded the Nespelem Art Colony in 1937, which painted Native American life on the Colville Reservation.

Career and key moments
- 1941: Moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, worked in war industries while continuing to paint.
- 1943: Had his first solo show at the San Francisco Museum of Art.
- 1943–1945: Taught at the Richmond Professional Institute (now part of Virginia Commonwealth University) before moving to New York.
- He met Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko in California and was introduced to Peggy Guggenheim, who gave him a solo show at The Art of This Century Gallery in 1946.
- After Guggenheim closed her gallery, he joined the Betty Parsons gallery in New York.
- 1946–1950: Back in San Francisco, Still developed his distinctive style—large-scale, non-figurative paintings with thick paint (impasto) and color fields, often using a palette knife. He blended Color Field painting with elements of Gestural/Action painting.
- He preferred dense, layered color that can look like colors “torn” apart, with surfaces that shimmer from thick paint. His work often suggests natural forms, like caverns or stalagmites, in a dramatic, abstract way.

Personal life
- First marriage: Lillian August Battan Still (circa 1930). They had two daughters and divorced in 1954.
- Second marriage: Patricia Alice Garske Still (1957–1980).

Paintings and style
- Still became known as a top Color Field painter, but his work also incorporated gestural, dynamic brushwork.
- He used thick impasto and palette knives to create strong textures and rich depth.
- His mature works are often large, dark, and powerful, with patches of bright color. A famous piece is 1957-D No. 1 (1957), featuring black and yellow with white and small red.

Exhibitions and recognition
- 1943: Solo show at the San Francisco Museum of Art.
- 1947: Solo show at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
- 1959: Major retrospective at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo.
- 1963: solo show at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
- 1969–1970: Solo shows at Marlborough-Gerson, New York.
- 1975: A permanent installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
- 1979: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York organized a major survey of his work.

Awards
- 1972: Award of Merit for Painting from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- 1975: Skowhegan Medal for Painting.
- Became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1978.

Estate, endowment, and the museum
- 1978: Wrote a will leaving many of his works and archives to be cared for in a permanent museum.
- After his 1980 death, his Still collection was kept private for more than twenty years.
- 2004: Denver, Colorado, was chosen to receive the Clyfford Still artworks (about 825 paintings on canvas and 1,575 works on paper).
- The Clyfford Still Museum opened in Denver in November 2011. It houses the full Still archives, journals, and library, along with the paintings.
- The museum was designed by Allied Works Architecture (Brad Cloepfil) and is celebrated as an architectural landmark for the city.
- In 2011, four Still paintings were sold to raise funds for the museum’s endowment and related expenses, bringing in about $114 million.

Other collections
Still’s works are held by major museums around the world, including:
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
- Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
- The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
- Tate, London (on loan to Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art)
- Other prominent institutions in the United States and abroad

Quotes and impact
Still is known for statements about color and painting, such as wanting color and texture to fuse into a living spirit rather than stay separate. His work and ideas influenced many critics and fellow artists and are widely discussed in art history.

See also
- List of single-artist museums

This version highlights Still’s life, art, and legacy in a concise, easy-to-understand way.