Syd Solomon

American, 1917-2004

Syd Solomon was an American abstract painter whose work blended technical innovation and a deep engagement with environment. Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania in 1917, Solomon studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before serving in World War II as part of the Army’s First Camouflage Battalion. 

Following the war, Solomon settled in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Annie, where he became a central figure in the region’s cultural development. He was among the first American artists to experiment extensively with acrylics, aerosol spray, and resist techniques—methods that allowed him to layer form and color in dynamic compositions.

Solomon later established a second studio in East Hampton, New York, linking him with a broader community of postwar artists. He also founded the Institute of Fine Art at New College in Sarasota, helping to cultivate a thriving local art scene. His mature style, marked by gestural abstraction and layered surfaces, reflected both his formal interests and his deep connection to coastal landscapes.

He exhibited widely throughout his career, and his work is included in major public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Solomon continued to paint until the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and he died in Sarasota in 2004. His legacy endures through a body of work that merges painterly and technical experimentation, offering a distinct perspective within the broader history of American abstraction.