1904–1980 · American
Clyfford Still
- Abstract Expressionism
- Color Field
Clyfford Still made an unusual decision regarding his art collection. In his will, he stipulated that his entire artistic output, comprising roughly 2,400 works, be given to an American city willing to create a museum solely for his art. This institution would display only his creations, with nothing else alongside them. Still’s condition reflected his deep mistrust of the commercial art world and his desire to control the context in which his paintings were seen.
Biography
Born in Grandin, North Dakota, in 1904, Still spent his early years on a farm in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada. He later studied briefly at Spokane University and then at the University of Virginia. By the 1920s, he was developing his distinctive abstract style, moving away from figurative representation. His early work often featured heavy impasto and dark colours, hinting at the monumental scale and fractured forms that would define his later career.
Still is often associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement, particularly for his use of large canvases and non-representational forms. However, he always maintained a degree of separation from the group, preferring his own path. He moved to New York in the mid-1940s, where he was one of the first artists to exhibit at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of this Century gallery. Despite this association, he largely avoided the social circles of other New York painters.
His mature paintings are characterised by jagged, vertical forms of colour, often appearing to tear through the canvas surface. These works reject traditional composition, instead presenting an immediate, raw visual experience. After 1950, Still largely withdrew from the New York art scene, eventually settling in rural Maryland. He continued to paint in relative seclusion until his death in 1980, refining his unique artistic language.
Timeline
- 1904Born in Grandin, North Dakota
- 1920Began developing his distinctive abstract style
- 1940Moved to New York in the mid-1940s
- 1940Exhibited at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of this Century gallery
- 1950Withdrew from the New York art scene
- 1980Died in 1980
Notable Works
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Clyfford Still known for?
Still's paintings are known for being jagged, harsh, and brooding. His titles are stark; for example, 1947-J, 1947-K, and 1950-H. No. 1.What is Clyfford Still's most famous work?
Clyfford Still, born in 1904, is known for his contributions to Abstract Expressionism. His early work was influenced by Surrealism, but he moved toward a distinctive style, often working on a large scale. Still applied paint thickly, sometimes with a palette knife, creating surfaces with diverse textures. He broke ground with his abstract areas of colour, which appear like slabs of earth. Though Still disdained titles, one early painting with its original title is *Jamais* (1944). This oil on canvas features an upright figure, reminiscent of Miró and Picasso, set against a blazing environment. The figure appears as a black flame. Light and dark contrast, emphasised by colour juxtapositions, and the canvas is already large. By the late 1940s, Still's finest works featured jagged, dramatic forms. Still lived on a farm in Maryland from 1961 until his death in 1980.What should I know about Clyfford Still's prints?
Clyfford Still is best known for his large-scale abstract expressionist paintings. Still's views on art distribution were very particular. He largely avoided the commercial art world. The artist also maintained tight control over his work throughout his lifetime. Still permitted few reproductions of his paintings. Examples are scarce. The prints that do exist are mostly from the 1940s. These early works show some surrealist influence. Lithographs such as "Record Book" (1944) display the biomorphic forms found in his paintings of the period. After 1947, Still moved away from overt figuration. His mature paintings are characterised by jagged forms and fields of colour. The artist's estate has authorised some reproductions since his death in 1980. These later prints are usually giclée reproductions of his paintings. They offer a more affordable way to engage with Still's abstract expressionist style. However, original prints by Still remain rare.What style or movement did Clyfford Still belong to?
Clyfford Still (born 1904; died 1980) is generally considered an Abstract Expressionist. His paintings from this period often feature large expanses of colour applied with a palette knife. These areas of colour appear like slabs of earth. A painting such as *Painting, 1944* is typical of Still's style, reminiscent of the Surrealists and their 'automatic' painting. It sought to release the creativity of the unconscious mind by emphasising spontaneity. Like his fellow Abstract Expressionists Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, Still tended to work on a massive scale. Still, however, maintained a fiercely independent attitude. He scorned the New York art world, and from 1961, he lived in rural Maryland in virtual isolation. Still's paintings have jagged, harsh, brooding qualities, and even their titles (*1947-J, 1947-K, 1950-H. No. 1*) are stark.What techniques or materials did Clyfford Still use?
Clyfford Still, born in 1904, was an Abstract Expressionist who favoured large-scale works. He applied paint thickly, sometimes using a palette knife to create areas of colour that resemble slabs of earth. His surfaces have diverse textures. Still's paintings often feature jagged lines and dramatic compositions. An example of his style is Painting, 1944, which shows a large expanse of paint interrupted by a jagged red line, which is then sliced through with streaks of yellow and white. Still sought to release the creativity of the unconscious mind by emphasising spontaneity. He lived in rural Maryland from 1961, remaining isolated from the New York art world, which he apparently scorned. Still died in 1980.What was Clyfford Still known for?
Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was an Abstract Expressionist painter. Born in Spokane, Washington, he spent many years on a farm in Maryland. Still’s paintings are often large and feature jagged forms. His titles are stark; examples include 1947-J, 1947-K, and 1950-H. No. 1. He taught at Washington State University and in San Francisco during the 1940s. Still was known for his independent attitude toward the art world. He maintained a critical view of art critics and curators. He wanted viewers to approach his dramatic canvases directly, without interpretation. Still amassed a large personal collection of his own work, retaining around 90 percent of his output. His will stipulated that this collection should be housed in a museum dedicated solely to his art.When did Clyfford Still live and work?
Clyfford Still was born on 30 November 1904, in Grandin, North Dakota, and he died on 23 June 1980, in Baltimore, Maryland. Still's early career included a period at Spokane University in Washington, interrupted by further study from 1931 to 1933. After graduating, he taught at Washington State College in Pullman until 1941. During the summers of 1934 and 1935, he attended the Trask Foundation (now Yaddo) in Saratoga Springs, New York. From 1941 to 1943, he was employed in defence factories in California. In 1943, Still had his first solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art, and he also met Mark Rothko in Berkeley. That same year, Still relocated to Richmond, Virginia, to teach at the Richmond Professional Institute. He moved to New York in 1945, where Rothko introduced him to Peggy Guggenheim; she then gave him a solo exhibition at her Art of This Century gallery in early 1946. Later that year, Still went back to San Francisco, teaching at the California School of Fine Arts for four years. In 1961, he settled on a farm near Westminster, Maryland.Where can I see Clyfford Still's work?
Clyfford Still's artworks can be found in numerous public collections. In New York, his work is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Outside of New York, notable collections are at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Seattle Art Museum. Further afield, examples are held by the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra). In Europe, Still's paintings are in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel (Switzerland), the Museum Ludwig in Cologne (Germany), and the Tate Gallery in London. His work has also been included in exhibitions at the Guggenheim museums, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.Where was Clyfford Still from?
Clyfford Still was born in 1904. Some sources say he was born in Grandin, North Dakota. Others claim he was born in Spokane, Washington. In the 1940s, Still taught in San Francisco. He spent many years on a farm in Maryland. Still died there in 1980, at the age of seventy-five. His paintings from the late 1940s and through the 1950s evoke the openness of the American West. Still was not fond of the New York art scene. He kept about 90 percent of his artistic output, more than 2,000 pieces. In his will, he stipulated that his artwork should go to a city that would house it in a museum containing only his works.Who did Clyfford Still influence?
Clyfford Still, born in North Dakota in 1904, was an Abstract Expressionist. His paintings often have stark titles, such as 1947-J and 1950-H. No. 1, and are characterised as jagged and brooding. Still had an impact on Mark Rothko. Rothko admired Still, writing an introduction for Still's solo exhibition catalogue at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1946. Rothko stated that Still, working in the West, had reached pictorial conclusions similar to those of the "Myth Makers" emerging during the war. Still's style influenced Rothko's works of 1946 and 1947. The horizontal arrangement of shapes, with hooked and jagged contours, seen in Rothko's Number 24 and Untitled, 1946, can be traced to paintings such as Still's 1945-H. Still's manipulation of colour, shape, and texture, along with his ability to create light through small areas of colour, impressed Rothko. Still's equation of colour with space and his stylistic consistency reinforced Rothko's inclinations. Rothko borrowed Still's 1947-8-W No. 2 and hung it in his New York apartment for six years.Who influenced Clyfford Still?
Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was born in Spokane, Washington. He taught in San Francisco in the 1940s, and later lived on a farm in Maryland. Still was an individualist who kept his distance from the art establishment. Still himself claimed not to have "worked over" the imagery of the past. He stated that he returned to his "own idioms" and "envisioned, created and thought through" his own work. He rejected the "totalitarian hegemony" of tradition. However, Still's work did have an impact on others. Mark Rothko looked to Still in 1946. The style of Still is apparent in the horizontal organisation of shapes with hooked and jagged contours in a number of Rothko's works from 1946 and shortly after. These elements may be traced to paintings such as Still's *1945-H*, which he showed to Rothko, Peggy Guggenheim, and others in New York in the autumn of 1945. Still's manipulation of colour, shape, and texture, and his ability to create flickers of light by placing small areas of colour at the edges of his canvas, also influenced Rothko's work of 1946-47.Who was Clyfford Still?
Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was an American Abstract Expressionist painter. Born in Spokane, Washington, he spent many years on a farm in Maryland. Still also taught in San Francisco during the 1940s, and at Washington State University. Still was known for his independent spirit and critical attitude towards the art establishment. He kept his distance from critics and curators, even those who admired his work. He viewed the New York art world as hostile. His paintings, mainly from the late 1940s and 1950s, are characterised by jagged forms and an austere quality, reflecting the openness of the American West. Titles such as *1947-J*, *1947-K*, and *1950-H. No. 1* exemplify their stark, almost industrial quality. Still insisted that his dramatic canvases should be experienced directly, without interpretation. Still retained around 90 percent of his artistic output, more than 2,000 pieces. In his will, he stipulated that his artwork be given to a city that would house it in a museum dedicated solely to his work.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Clyfford Still.
- [1] book Jed Perl, Art in America 1945-1970 Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-15. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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