Frank Stella

Frank Stella
Stella in 2012
Born	Frank Philip Stella (1936-05-12)May 12, 1936 Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 4, 2024(2024-05-04) (aged 87) New York City, U.S.
Known for	Painter printmaker sculpture architect
Movement	Modernism minimal art abstract expressionism geometric abstraction abstract illusionism lyrical abstraction hard-edge painting shaped canvas painting color field painting
Awards	Charles Eliot Norton Lectures – Harvard University 1984 Working Space National Medal of Arts 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture – International Sculpture Center 2011

Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career before moving his studio to Rock Tavern, New York. Stella's work catalyzed the minimalist movement in the late 1950s. He moved to New York City in the late 1950s, where he created works which emphasized the picture-as-object. These were influenced by the abstract expressionist work of artists like Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock. He developed a reductionist approach to his art, saying he wanted to demonstrate that for him, every painting is "a flat surface with paint on it—nothing more", and disavowed conceptions of art as a means of expressing emotion. He won notice in the New York art world in 1959 when his four black pinstripe paintings were shown at the Museum of Modern Art. Stella was a recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 2009 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture by the International Sculpture Center in 2011.