Leo Kenney

The Life of Leo Kenney

Leo Kenney was an American abstract painter and a leading figure in the second generation of the Northwest School. Born in Spokane, Washington, he moved to Seattle at age six. His early interest in art involved copying images from magazines and newspapers, driven by an early love of surrealism. During his youth, Kenney experienced significant health challenges related to his small stature, including a severe case of mumps.

After attending Broadway High School in Seattle, Kenney worked at the Douglas Aircraft assembly plant in Long Beach, California. He later returned to Seattle and began exhibiting his work at Frederick & Nelson's department store in 1944. By 1945, the Seattle Art Museum had purchased his painting, The Inception of Magic.

Artistic Evolution and Career

Kenney's early work in the 1940s and '50s was characterized by dark, figurative imagery influenced by surrealism. While working as a display artist at Gump's in San Francisco, his fascination with the mandala led to a shift toward pure abstraction featuring glowing colors, geometric forms, and intricate detail. His later work explored elemental forms and studies of light.

Throughout his career, Kenney had several notable exhibitions:

A solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum in 1949.
An exhibition at the Willard Gallery in New York in 1968.
A solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum in 1973.
Leo Kenney: Geometrics at the Port Angeles Fine Art Center in 1996.

Kenney died in Seattle in 2001.

Questions & Answers

Is there a chronological account of Leo Kenney?

A chronological account of Leo Kenney's work is available on the artist's Chronicle page, where the artworks pass in order of creation, chapter by chapter.