Clyfford Still, PH-892, 1973 (detail). Oil on canvas, 93 1/2 x 155 in. Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO. © City and County of Denver / ARS, NY Photo of Clyfford Still working on PH-892 courtesy of Clyfford Still Archives
Clyfford Still had a bold artistic vision and was unwilling to compromise it for money or recognition. Still was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionists who developed a new and powerful approach to painting.
Described by many as the most anti-traditional of the Abstract Expressionists, Still is credited with laying the groundwork for the movement. Still’s shift from representational painting to abstraction occurred between 1938 and 1942, earlier than his colleagues, who continued to paint in figurative-surrealist styles well into the 1940s.