Russell, Morgan, 1886-1953

Morgan Russell was born in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1886. He studied at the Art Students League and the New York School of Art before settling in Paris in 1909, where he studied sculpture with Henri Matisse. He was aware of the avant-garde movements Cubism, Orphism, and Futurism. Turning his attention from sculpture to painting, he developed a style based on the rhythmic use of color, analogous to symphonic musical composition, which he termed Synchromism. Like his contemporaries Frank Kupka and Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Russell was interested in color theory.

In 1976 The Museum of Modern Art organized an exhibition of paintings, notebooks, and sketches entitled "Morgan Russell: Synchromist Studies 1910-1922" [MoMA Exh.# 1121, March 16 - May 25, 1976]. The exhibition was directed by Cora Rosevar, Assistant Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture. Gail Levin Theodore, Assistant Professor of Art History, Connecticut College, collaborated on the exhibition, making available her independent research on Morgan Russell.

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