Jack Whitten
1939–2018

Introduction

Jack Whitten (December 5, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was an American painter and sculptor. In 2016, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts.

Wikidata identifier

Q6115781

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Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed November 7, 2024.

Introduction

Whitten initially studied medicine at the Tuskegee Institute, but moved to Louisiana to begin studying art. He became involved in the Civil Rights movement there, and subsequently moved to New York in 1960 to study at Cooper Union. His mature works were made employing combs, laminations, rakes, and squeegees to apply acrylic paint to canvas. His late works were made using chips of acrylic paint to build mosaic-like surfaces. Whitten's sculptures which he first created in New York and later at his summer home on Crete, consist of carved wood, found objects and materials including bone, marble, paper, glass, nails, and fishing line.

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, painter, sculptor

ULAN identifier

500077661

Names

Jack Whitten

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed November 7, 2024.



On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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