Pungent Distances

Early Life and Education

• Born: Morris Louis Bernstein, November 28, 1912, Baltimore, Maryland
• Parents: Louis Bernstein (furniture salesman) and Cecelia Luckman Bernstein.
• Education: Attended public schools in Baltimore; Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts (now MICA), 1929-1932. Did not complete a degree.
• Early influences included Eugene Speicher and Paul Cézanne.
• Showed an early interest in art, encouraged by his family despite limited opportunities in Baltimore.

Development as an Artist & Key Influences

• 1930s: Worked various odd jobs to support himself while painting (vegetable peeling, laundry work, Gallup Poll research).
• 1934-1936: Participated in the Public Works of Art Project mural project under Sam Swerdloff.
• 1936-1937: Moved to New York City; experimented with techniques at the Siqueiros Workshop.
• Magna Paint Discovery (1948): A pivotal moment – Louis pioneered the use of Magna paint, a newly developed oil-based acrylic paint created for him by Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden. This allowed for greater fluidity and transparency in his work.
• Influence of Helen Frankenthaler: In 1953, Louis and Kenneth Noland visited Frankenthaler's studio and were deeply impressed by her stain paintings (particularly "Mountains and Sea"). This inspired their experimentation with pouring and staining techniques.

The Veil Paintings & Color Field Innovations

• Mature Veil Paintings (1954): Characterized by overlapping, superimposed layers of transparent color poured onto and stained into sized or unsized canvas.
• Technique: Extremely diluted paint was applied to an unprimed, unstretched canvas, allowing it to flow over the inclined surface, creating translucent color veils. This eliminated brushstrokes and emphasized flatness.
• Color Field Painting: Louis became a central figure in Color Field painting, simplifying pictorial space and emphasizing flat planes of intense color. He was part of the Washington Color School movement.
• Series & Styles: Beyond the Veil paintings, he explored series like florals, columns (1960), unfurleds (1960-61) – featuring rivulets of opaque color – and stripe paintings (1961-62).

Major Achievements & Historical Significance

• Pioneering Color Field Painting: Louis is recognized as a key innovator in Color Field painting, alongside artists like Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler.
• Influence on Abstract Expressionism: His work expanded the boundaries of Abstract Expressionism by focusing on color and flatness rather than gesture or composition.
• Washington Color School: A significant contributor to this influential movement, which emphasized a reductive approach to painting.
• Destruction of Works: Notably, Louis destroyed many of his paintings between 1955 and 1957, reflecting a critical self-assessment of his work.
• Legacy: His emphasis on color, flatness, and the materiality of paint continues to influence contemporary artists.

Later Years & Death

• Louis continued painting prolifically until his death.
• Death: Died September 7, 1962, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 49.
• Memorial Exhibition (1963): A significant exhibition was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum shortly after his death.
• Retrospective Exhibitions: Major retrospectives followed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1967), and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1976).