Fairfield Porter

American artist (1907-1975)

Fairfield Porter (June 10, 1907 – September 18, 1975) was an American painter and art critic.

Fairfield Porter
Born(1907-06-10)June 10, 1907
DiedSeptember 18, 1975(1975-09-18) (aged 68)
NationalityAmerican
EducationHarvard University, Art Students' League
Known forPainting, art criticism
MovementNew York Figurative Expressionism
SpouseAnne Porter

Porter was born in Winnetka, Illinois, north of Chicago. He was the fourth of five children of James Porter, an architect, and Ruth Furness Porter, a poet. He was the brother of photographer Eliot Porter. In 1932 he married the poet Anne (Channing) Porter.[1]

Porter was a figurative painter at a time when abstraction was more popular.[1][2] He painted landscapes, house interiors, and portraits of family, friends and other artists. He made many paintings of the land, his home, and family in Southampton, Long Island and at Great Spruce Head Island in Maine where they spent many summers.[2]


Work in public collections

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Frank O'Hara (1957) by Fairfield Porter (Toledo Art Museum)

Porter willed about 250 of his works to the Parrish Art Museum.[3][4][5]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Biographical Note | A Finding Aid to the Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, bulk 1924-1975 | Digitized Collection | Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Vendler, Helen (2002). "Ashbery's Aesthetic: Reporting on Fairfield Porter and Saul Steinberg". JSTOR - Harvard Review. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  3. "Fairfield Porter: Modern American Master". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
  4. "The Fairfield Porter Collection and Archives". Archived from the original on 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
  5. Spike, John T. Fairfield Porter: An American Classic, p. 282-307.New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1992
  6. "Explore the Collection – Muscarelle Museum of Art". Retrieved 2023-02-08.