Burgoyne Diller

Born in New York City in 1906, Burgoyne Diller was brought up in Michigan. He returned to New York in 1926 and studied at the Art Students League from 1928 to 1932. With Hans Hofmann, Diller made his first geometrical paintings in the 1930s, embracing the rigid formulas of Piet Mondrian's "pure plastic art," which included the use of horizontal and vertical lines as well as primary colors. Diller became director of the Mural Division of the New York City Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project in 1935, and remained in government service until 1941. In 1945, he became associate professor of art at Brooklyn College. Burgoyne Diller died in 1965.

From the guide to the Burgoyne Diller collection of printed material, 1932-1961, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)