Point of Tranquility, (1959-1960) - Morris Louis - Framed art Print

Born in Baltimore as Morris Louis Bernstein in 1912, Louis studied at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts from 1929 to 1933 on a scholarship. Despite leaving before graduating, he balanced odd jobs with his painting passion. In 1935, he was president of the Baltimore Artists’ Association, and from 1936 to 1940, Louis spent time in New York, associating with artists like Arshile Gorky, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jack Tworkov while working for the WPA Federal Art Project.

He returned to Baltimore in 1940, offering private teaching, and by 1948, Louis adopted the use of Magna acrylic paints. Moving to Washington, D.C. in 1952, he taught at the Washington Workshop Center of the Arts, forming a close bond with Kenneth Noland.

Impacted by Helen Frankenthaler's stain painting, "Mountains and Sea," during a 1953 visit, Louis, along with Noland, explored new paint application techniques. The result was his famous Veil paintings in 1954, featuring transparent colour layers poured onto canvas.

His first New York solo show at the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1957 ended with many destroyed paintings, yet Louis continued with the Veils in 1958–59. His artistic journey evolved with the creation of Florals, Columns, Unfurleds, and Stripe paintings, displaying opaque colour rivulets and large white fields from 1960 to 1962.