Philip Pearlstein

Philip Pearlstein was an American painter whose works are composed around the realistic interpretation of nude figures. Pearlstein was born in 1924 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. By the 1960’s Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art were thriving in the art world. Pearlstein’s works go against what was popular during that time and he desired to bring life back into the realism movement. His works display the juxtaposition of nude models with bright colorful elements within the composition, such as giraffe sculptures, animal masks and bright and colorful patterns on the rugs and chairs. His works all display the presence of a bright, harsh artificial light source, as well as his works seem to depict a slanted, foreshortened angle. 

Though halted momentarily by the draft, Pearlstein received his BFA from Carnegie Institute of Technology’s art school in 1949. While working as a graphic designer, he received his Master’s degree from New York University in 1955. His figure paintings started to come about when he attended figure drawing classes in 1958. This would start the journey of creating his most famous works. Pearlstein’s works have been dispersed among a variety of collections including, the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Pearlstein died in December of 2022, aged 98 years, in Manhattan.