1960s Modernist Portrait Painting by Achillo Sullo

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Singular original work by well listed, trending American artist. Oil, gouache & pencil on paper. Circa 1962. Artists’s estate stamp/verso. … Read more Singular original work by well listed, trending American artist. Oil, gouache & pencil on paper. Circa 1962. Artists’s estate stamp/verso. Unframed.

Achillo “Achi” Sullo (American 1922-2013).

As a young man, Sullo honed his artistic gifts serving his country on the front lines as a WW2 equipment camouflage painter. Post-conflict, he was accepted to The Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, where he studied for 5 years (including a year abroad in Italy/France). He graduated the program in 1949, alongside a number of artistic luminaries of the American abstract movement. Most notably Ellsworth Kelly (class of 48) and Cy Twombly (class of 49).

Sullo won numerous awards/accolades. Over the next few years, his work was exhibited in various Boston galleries and glowingly reviewed by The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and other relevant publications… culminating in a well received and successful 1958 Solo exhibition organized by The San Diego Museum of Art.

Described as an introvert, it seems Sullo was put off by the sudden attention and stresses of this early success. Shortly afterward, he opted to “drop out”, eschewing all commercial aspects of the art world. He kept a private studio and worked prolifically… for the simple JOY of creating…
but staunchly refused to make the work available for public exhibition or sale during his lifetime.

A master of color and design, Sullo dedicated himself strictly to the processes of exploration and creation. A modernist throughout his career, his early works of the 1950s were influenced by post-impressionism and expressionism. After dabbling in abstract expressionism in the late '50s and early 60s his mature styles settled toward organic, hard-edged abstraction and bold post-modernism.

Over the years, Sullo experimented widely in sculpture, paint, sketch and print, using a wide variety of medium to create a truly stunning body of wholly original and distinctive work. His posthumously released pieces have quickly gained significant attention/traction among galleries and private collectors alike, with demand quickly outpacing supply in several genres. See less