James Rosenquist

American, 1933–2017

Rosenquist was best known for his adaptations of the visual language of advertising and pop culture in the context of fine art. He was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in 1933, and in junior high Rosenquist received a scholarship to study at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He attended the University of Minnesota and in 1955 received a scholarship to study at the Art Students League in New York City. After becoming a member of the Sign, Pictorial and Display Union and quitting his job in 1960, Rosenquist had his first solo exhibition at the Green Gallery in New York. He executed murals and commissions for the 1964 New York World’s Fair; the state capital building in Tallahassee, Florida; and the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, among others. His work is included in major public and private institutions and has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, all in New York City; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; The Museum of Fine Arts and the Menil Collection, both in Houston; the Denver Art Museum; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow; Museum Ludwig and Wallraf-Richartz Museum, both in Cologne; and other national and international institutions. Rosenquist served on the National Council on the Arts for six years and received such awards as the World Print Award and the Skowhegan Medal in Painting.

Photo: Sidney B. Felsen