Artist to Know: Anne Truitt and Parallel Lines
What originally drew me to Anne Truitt (1921-2004) was her name. My family name is also Truitt and it has been rare in my life to find other Truitts. But there are so many more parallels between her and my own life that I uncovered as I researched her work and career. She has a degree in psychology which is one of my academic interests as well.
Morning Choice, 1968, Acrylic on wood, 72 x 14 x 14 inches
She began as a writer and journalist early in her career. Eventually she progressed to sculpting, drawing and painting over the span of her 40 year art career. This transition from writing to art I connect with since I also find both writing and painting are competing interests of mine and I often feel guilty trying to do both. But Truitt was able to find a way to integrate these differing mediums into her creative journey, taking coursework in sculpture in the 1940s and experimenting with various mediums including clay, steel, cast cement and plaster.
Artist Anne Truitt
Image credit: www.anntruitt.org
By the 1960s, Truitt developed what would become the style of sculpture that she would be known for: subtle layers of color on large wood structures. While Truitt is today known for her sculptures, she also created paintings and drawings during her career. I absolutely love the simplicity and boldness of Anne Truitt's work. Each piece relies on color and form in a way that is both beautiful and calming to me.
Watauga, 1962, Acrylic on wood, 46 x 56 x 7 inches; First, 1961, Acrylic on wood, 44 ¼ x 17 ¾ x 7 inches; 5 Nov. 62, 1962, Acrylic on paper, 22 x 30 inches; Pith, 1969, Acrylic on wood, 85 ½ x 18 x 18 inches; Dawn City, 1963, Acrylic on wood, 64 ⅝ x 42 x 10 inches; Elixir, 1997, Acrylic on wood, 81 x 8 x 8 inches; Hardcastle, 1962, Acrylic on wood, 99 ¾ x 42 x 16 inches; 23 Feb. '69 No. 1, 1969, Acrylic on paper, 23 x 29 inches. Image credit: www.anntruitt.org
““What is important to me is not geometrical shape per se, or color per se, but to make a relationship between shape and color which feels to me like my experience. To make what feels to me like reality.””
Today her work can be found in the collections of major museums including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Arundel XXV, 1975, Acrylic on canvas, 44 ¾ x 90 ¼ inches
Image credit: www.anntruitt.org
Truitt wrote 4 books about her life as an artist: Daybook (Pantheon, 1982), Turn (Viking, 1986), Prospect (Scribner, 1996), and Yield (Yale University Press, 2022). These books detail her thoughts about her work, the creative process and her life.
Way VII, 1974, Acrylic on canvas, 40 ¾ x 87 inches
More about work and life can be found here: www.annetruitt.org. Her available work for purchase can be found here: https://www.artsy.net/artist/anne-truitt