Untitled, Rome, 1991
Elizabeth Murray, born in Chicago in 1940, was a pioneering painter known for her uniquely shaped canvases that diverged from traditional two-dimensional art. She earned a BFA at the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Mills College in California. Murray's paintings blurred the line between object and space, often featuring still lifes reminiscent of Cézanne, Picasso, and Matisse. These compositions, characterized by bold colors and playful imagery, breathed new life into old art forms. Murray received numerous awards for her work, including the Skowhegan Medal in Painting in 1986 and a MacArthur Foundation Award in 1999. Her art is featured in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Elizabeth Murray lived and worked in New York until her passing in August 2007.