Jules Olitski (née Demikovsky) (b. 1922) was born in Russia, but immigrated to New York with his mother and grandmother in 1923. When his mother remarried in 1926, his name was changed to Olitsky. Between 1940 and 1942, he studied at the national Academy of Design and the Beaux-Arts Institute in New York. After serving in the United States Army, he used the GI Bill to study in Paris like Sam Francis. His first solo exhibition was in Paris in 1951. Shortly after this Olitski returned to New York. From 1952 until 1955, he studied philosophy at New York University and later taught at CW Post College, Long Island University, and Bennington College, Vermont. Following the misspelling of his name in an exhibition announcement, the artist officially changed his name to Olitski in 1958. During the 1960s, Olitski began experimenting with stain painting techniques. He poured paint, used brushes, sponges and rollers, and was the first among his contemporaries to spray paint on canvas. In 1966, he won second place at the Venice Biennale. A year later, his work was featured at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and in 1969, Olitski was the first living artist to be given a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This was followed by a retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1973. He lives and works in Meredith, New Hampshire and Islamorada, Florida.

Untitled

1968
Acrylic on cardboard
48 x 31 inches

Dream of Isaac

2001
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 84 inches

Once in Segovia

1999
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 48 inches