VVFA Modern | Artists | Joseph Stella (Italian/American, 1877 - 1946)
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Joseph Stella was born in Muro Lucano, near Naples and emigrated to New York City in 1896. He studied medicine and pharmacology, then attended the Art Students League under William Merritt Chase. His early illustrations, often of immigrant life, appeared in Century and Everybody’s magazine and from 1902 through 1908 Stella’s series of drawings of Pittsburgh steelworkers appeared in Survey Graphic magazine. Moving back to Europe from 1909 to 1912, Stella associated with some of the most well known European Modernists, including Matisse and Modigliani. Exposed to the influence of the Futurists and Symbolists, Stella soon adopted a Futurist style. Returning to America, he exhibited at the first Armory Show in 1913, cementing his status within the avant garde. Upon his return to New York, Stella began to paint Futurist visions of sites such as Coney Island and the Brooklyn Bridge. He once wrote passionately about the Brooklyn Bridge as “a shrine containing all the efforts of the new civilization of America.”
Throughout his career, Stella explored themes ranging from the mystical and symbolic to the commonplace. He was also passionate and prolific in capturing blooming plants, leaves, shells and feathers in silverpoint, colored pencil, watercolor and oils.
In the current work, Stella paints a simple apple on a red tabletop. While the work is careful and realist in its depiction, it embraces a symbolist approach that turns the simple still life into a highly decorative object. The organic, round form of the apple is mirrored by the shape of a brightly painted saucer. The bright fruit reflects against the deep red tabletop, casting a pale, liquid disc below the apple and saucer. The composition of three simplified, round forms against a flat background gives the work a modern, almost abstract aspect.
Stella was an international figure and also known for his raging temper. In 1931, for example, while in Paris, Stella became so enraged when he was not invited to exhibit with the 38 “Artistes Americains Moderne de Paris,” that he clubbed one of the organizers into unconsciousness with his cane.
Membership
American Society of Painters, Sculptors & Engravers
Exhibited
Carnegie Institute, 1910 (solo)
Armory Show, 1913
Society of Independent Artists, 1917, 1936, 1941
Whitney Museum of American Art, 1922-46, 1994 (retrospective)
Salons of America, 1922-30
Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-31, 1938
Newark Museum, 1939 (solo)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Annual, 1944
Corcoran Gallery, biennial, 1945
ACA Gallery, New York, 1940’s
Museum of Modern Art, 1960 (solo)
Richard York Gallery, New York, solos: 1988, 1990, 1998
Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Modern Art
Art Institute of Chicago
Brooklyn Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art
Worcester Museum of Art
Newark Museum
Yale University Art Gallery
Throughout his career, Stella explored themes ranging from the mystical and symbolic to the commonplace. He was also passionate and prolific in capturing blooming plants, leaves, shells and feathers in silverpoint, colored pencil, watercolor and oils.
In the current work, Stella paints a simple apple on a red tabletop. While the work is careful and realist in its depiction, it embraces a symbolist approach that turns the simple still life into a highly decorative object. The organic, round form of the apple is mirrored by the shape of a brightly painted saucer. The bright fruit reflects against the deep red tabletop, casting a pale, liquid disc below the apple and saucer. The composition of three simplified, round forms against a flat background gives the work a modern, almost abstract aspect.
Stella was an international figure and also known for his raging temper. In 1931, for example, while in Paris, Stella became so enraged when he was not invited to exhibit with the 38 “Artistes Americains Moderne de Paris,” that he clubbed one of the organizers into unconsciousness with his cane.
Membership
American Society of Painters, Sculptors & Engravers
Exhibited
Carnegie Institute, 1910 (solo)
Armory Show, 1913
Society of Independent Artists, 1917, 1936, 1941
Whitney Museum of American Art, 1922-46, 1994 (retrospective)
Salons of America, 1922-30
Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-31, 1938
Newark Museum, 1939 (solo)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Annual, 1944
Corcoran Gallery, biennial, 1945
ACA Gallery, New York, 1940’s
Museum of Modern Art, 1960 (solo)
Richard York Gallery, New York, solos: 1988, 1990, 1998
Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Modern Art
Art Institute of Chicago
Brooklyn Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art
Worcester Museum of Art
Newark Museum
Yale University Art Gallery
