Frank Stella (American, b.1936) is a painter and printmaker who was born in Malden, MA. He attended high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, and went on to study history at Princeton University. After he graduated in 1958, the artist moved to New York, NY.
In 1958, Stella was inspired by the geometric stripes and rings in Jasper Johns’ first solo exhibition. The next year, his own paintings were included in 16 Americans at the Museum of Modern Art, and, in 1960, Stella had his first New York solo exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery. In 1961, Stella married Barbara Rose, who went on to become a well-known art critic.
Stella’s works have been featured in various exhibitions in the United States and worldwide, including those held at Haunch of Venison in London, England; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY; Gagosian Gallery in New York, NY; The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.; and Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland. In 1970, when Stella was only in his 30s, the Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective of the artist’s work.
Stella has received many awards and honors, including First Prize at the International Biennial Exhibition of Paintings in Tokyo, Japan (1967); Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government (1989); and Gold Medal for Graphic Art Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, NY (1998). The artist currently lives and works in New York, NY.