Jules Olitski facts for kids

Jules Olitski (born Jevel Demikovski on March 27, 1922 – died February 4, 2007) was a famous American artist. He was known for his paintings, prints, and sculptures.

Early Life and Family

Jules Olitski was born Jevel Demikovsky in Snovsk, which is now part of Ukraine. This was in 1922. A few months before he was born, his father was executed by the Soviet government. In 1923, Jules moved to the United States with his mother and grandmother. They settled in Brooklyn, New York. His grandmother helped take care of him while his mother worked. In 1926, his mother married Hyman Olitsky, who already had two sons. Jules later took the name Olitski.

Becoming an Artist

Jules showed a talent for drawing from a young age. By 1935, he was taking art classes in Manhattan. He went to public schools in New York and won an art prize when he finished high school. In 1939, he visited the 1939 New York World's Fair. He was very impressed by the portraits painted by the famous artist Rembrandt. After high school, Jules won a scholarship to study art at Pratt Institute. He also got into the National Academy of Design in New York. From 1940 to 1942, he continued his art education at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York.

After serving in the Army, Jules went to Paris in the late 1940s. He studied at the Ossip Zadkine School and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In Paris, he saw many artworks by modern European masters. He even tried painting while blindfolded to challenge himself and create new styles. He returned to New York in 1951. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952 and his Master of Arts degree in Art Education in 1954, both from New York University.

His Art Career

Jules Olitski had his first art show in Paris in 1951. When he came back to New York, he started painting monochromatic pictures. These were paintings mostly in one color, often with empty spaces in the middle. In 1958, he had his first solo show in New York. There, he met Clement Greenberg, a famous art critic who helped show Olitski's work to more people.

New Painting Styles

In 1960, Olitski changed his style. He stopped using thick paint and started staining canvases with large areas of thin, bright colors. These new works were shown in 1961 and quickly gained attention. He won a prize at the Carnegie International and his paintings began to be collected by museums.

By 1965, Olitski developed a new and unique way of painting. He would spray layers of color onto the canvas, creating soft, cloud-like effects. He often added thin lines of acrylic paint along the edges of his pictures. His art was shown all over the world in the late 1960s. In 1966, he was chosen as one of four artists to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale, a major international art exhibition. In 1969, he became the first living American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For this show, he exhibited large, spray-painted sculptures made of aluminum.

Teaching and Later Works

Olitski also taught art at Bennington College from 1963 to 1967. In the 1970s, he went back to using thick paint, known as impasto. He used new techniques with improved acrylic paints and gels. In 1994, he was elected into the National Academy of Design, a high honor for artists.

His very last paintings, from 2001 to 2007, often featured bright, colorful circles or "orbs." These could remind viewers of landscapes or skyscapes. An art expert, Norman L. Kleeblat, described Olitski's colors as "intense and artificial-looking," saying they were like the bold colors used by the artist Eugène Delacroix.

Jules Olitski had over 150 solo exhibitions during his life. His art is displayed in museums around the world. He also received honorary doctorates from several universities.

Personal Life

Jules Olitski lived and worked in his art studios in New Hampshire and Florida. He continued to exhibit his art regularly until he passed away in 2007 at the age of 84.

He was married three times.

• In 1945, he married Gladys Katz, and they had one daughter, Eve. They later divorced.
• In 1956, he married Andrea Hill Pearce, and they had one daughter, Lauren. They also later divorced.
• In 1980, he married Joan C. Gorby.