Beautiful Billy Al Bengston acrylic canvas. 20.5 x 20.5 inches. Provenance: private owner.
Biography: 1934 - 2022. Billy Al Bengston was born on June 7, 1934 in Dodge City, Kansas. He studied at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles State College, California College of Arts and Crafts and Los Angeles County Art Institute. He taught at Chouinard Art Institute 1961, University of California at Los Angeles in 1962-63, University of Oklahoma 1967, University of Colorado 1967. He won an award from National Council of Arts 1967 and a Tamarind Fellowship. In 1969 he had a retrospective circulating from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.Many of his large-scaled works depict lush foliage, blue lagoons, brilliant sunsets and yellow moonrises, etc.; the paintings are also unabashadly funny, visual puns abound. A confirmed modernist and an admirer of Matisse, Bengston believes his work is predominantly about line and color. He has worked in many exotic places, in California, Mexico and Hawaii. He seems to be able to do it all: paint full-time, maintain a strenuous physical pace, and find constant new outlets for his whimsical, forthright ideas.

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American, 19th century: This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

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