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Altoon Sultan
View on WikipediaAltoon Sultan (born 1948) is an American artist known for her small-scale egg tempera paintings depicting details of agricultural machinery. Working in a tradition of formalist realism, her works nevertheless treat her subject matter like found abstractions. Sultan lives and works in Groton, Vermont.[1]
Key Information
Early life and education
[edit]Sultan was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1948. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1969 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1971 from Brooklyn College, where she studied painting with Philip Pearlstein and Lois Dodd. She also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine.[2]
Work
[edit]Sultan’s paintings are often based on photographs she has taken of agricultural landscapes and equipment. Her technique combines representational detail with simplified forms and bold use of color, sometimes compared to minimalist approaches to composition.[3] She frequently works in egg tempera on calfskin parchment.
In addition to painting, Sultan writes about art and maintains Studio and Garden, a blog featuring her photography, reflections on her practice, and exhibition commentary.[4]
Career
[edit]Sultan has exhibited in the United States and internationally since the 1970s. Her work has been shown at Marlborough Gallery (New York), Tibor de Nagy Gallery (New York), McKenzie Fine Art (New York), Chris Sharp Gallery (Los Angeles), Hollybush Gardens (London), and Zero… (Milan).[5]
Selected solo exhibitions
[edit]- 1979–1991: Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY
- 2007: Monuments of Architecture, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY
- 2009: Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT
- 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019: McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY
- 2020: Drawings and a Painting, Feuilleton, Los Angeles, CA
- 2021: Paintings, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2022: Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
- 2023: Altoon Sultan, Hollybush Gardens, London, UK
- 2024: New Paintings, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2025: Paintings, Zero…, Milan, Italy
Selected group exhibitions
[edit]- 1984: American Realism: Twentieth Century Drawings and Watercolors, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
- 1991: The Landscape in 20th Century American Art, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
- 2017: Philip Pearlstein: A Legacy of Influence, Princeton, NJ
- 2021: The Stubborn Influence of Painting, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, CO
- 2022: A Minor Constellation, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2022: Still Life and the Poetry of Place, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY
Collections
[edit]Sultan’s work is included in several public collections, including the:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Yale University Art Gallery
- National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
- National Gallery of Australia
- Tate Gallery, London
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
- Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA
Awards
[edit]- 2012: Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, Vermont Council on the Arts
- 2001: J. Sanford Saltus Gold Medal for Painting, National Academy of Design
- 1999: Prix Duc de Valverde d’Ayala Valva, Fondation Monaco
- 1999: Academy Award in Art, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 1995: Elected Member, National Academy of Design
- 1983, 1989: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grants
Publications
[edit]- The Luminous Brush: Painting with Egg Tempera. Watson-Guptill, 1999. ISBN 0-8230-2888-7
References
[edit]- ^ Lralon. "A Conversation With Altoon Sultan." Figure/Ground, November 4, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ "Altoon Sultan." Art in America, March 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Yau, John. "Altoon Sultan’s Powerful Challenge." Hyperallergic, March 21, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ^ "Studio and Garden." Altoon Sultan. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ "Altoon Sultan – Exhibitions." Tibor de Nagy Gallery. Retrieved May 20, 2017.