The Life and Artistic Evolution of Thornton Willis
Thornton Wilson Willis was an American abstract painter born on May 25, 1936, in Pensacola, Florida. After serving three years in the United States Marine Corps, he studied at Auburn University and later graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a B.A. in 1962. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Alabama, receiving his M.A. in 1966. During his time in Alabama, he studied painting with Melville Price.
In 1967, Willis moved to New York City to teach at Wagner College on Staten Island and established a studio in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. His career included several distinct series of work:
- Slat Series: Created between 1967 and 1973, involving a "wet on wet" process on large unstretched canvas.
- Wedge Series: Developed from 1974 to 1982, exploring form and field ambiguity.
- Triangle Paintings: Spanning the decade from 1990 to 2000, featuring a term he coined as "biomorphic cubism."
- Lattices: A rectilinear format created after 2007.
Recognition and Legacy
Willis's work has been included in the permanent collections of several institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists and received various honors, such as a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1979 and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
He passed away on June 15, 2025, in Manhattan. His marriage to fellow painter Vered Lieb lasted until his death.
