American artist, 1897-1983. Born near
Chicago, he began painting at an early age, encouraged by his
father, a
portrait painter. Termed a '
magic realist' for attention to and distorted emphasis of ordinary portrait flaws, he devoted his career to a study of
decay and the
passage of time; most of his paintings depict old or aging men and women, emphasizing
wrinkles and
defects by using strongly contrasted lighting effects on a dull,
matte background, with
meticulous attention to
detail. In his own words: "I just can't seem to paint nice things".
Perhaps his two most famous paintings are entitled 'Into the World There Came a Soul Named Ida' and 'That which I should have done I did not do', both currently in the Art Institute of Chicago. He was also the obvious choice for a commission to paint a much publicized portrait of Dorian Gray.