WEEK EIGHT...DAY ONE

WILLIAM BRICE

I picked up one of my art books recently - "California Painters"

so that will be the theme for this week's blog.

He was born to an actress and gambler/criminal

who was in prison frequently on a variety of charges

stemming from a history of thefts, swindles and confidence schemes.

Willaim's talent was recognized early.

Important influences included then-active artists Matisse and Picasso

(one of whose works Brice acquired at the age of fourteen).

His first solo show of paintings and drawings

was presented at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1947.

The early work was figural and representational.

Over time, he moved in the direction of greater abstraction. 

His work was characterized by expert draughtsmanship.

Brice’s work is part of the permanent collections of such major museums as

 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art,

the Art Institute of Chicago

and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

At age 86, he suffered injuries in a fall,

and never regained consciousness

before dying at the UCLA Medical Center on March 3, 2008.