Will Henry Stevens

Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949) is an example of one the most prolific Modernist painters in the American South. During his career, Stevens captured the spirit of the Southern landscape from the highlands of Appalachia to the lowlands and deltas of Louisiana.

His faithful commune with nature began in early boyhood and lasted his entire life, providing the inspiration for thousands of exquisite paintings. Proficient in a variety of media, Stevens' poetic vision is reflected in oil, tempera, watercolor and pastels that he crafted by hand.

His quiet intelligence, keen vision, modernist disposition and technical mastery are seen throughout his body of work. Stevens drew and painted simultaneously in two styles -- one abstract, influenced by Klee and Kandinsky, and the other a lyrical body of work that is more traditional. He was a pioneer of Modernism in the American South, and his representational work and objective abstractions reflect his deep love of nature, particularly the bayou and mountains. He easily translated the geometry he found in nature into non-objective abstractions as well.

Stevens was born in Vevay, Indiana in 1881. As a young painter he studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy and the Art Students League in New York City. While living briefly in New York, he had several one-man shows and was befriended by such artists as Albert Pinkam Ryder, Jonas Lie and Van Dearing Perrine.

In 1921 Stevens moved to New Orleans, where he taught art at Sophie Newcomb College, now part of Tulane University. He traveled to the mountains in the summers, where he painted primarily in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Stevens died in 1949 after retiring and moving back to Vevay.

Submitted by Blue Spiral 1