Harvey Quaytman, born on April 20, 1937, in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, was a geometric abstraction painter whose work has significantly contributed to the modernist art movement. Quaytman's artistic journey was deeply influenced by his early life experiences and the cultural backdrop of New York City, where he was raised. The son of Marcus Quaytman, a 1920 Jewish immigrant from Lodz, Poland, and a certified public accountant, and Rose Quaytman, a piano teacher from Lawrence, Long Island, New York, Harvey's life was marked by tragedy early on when his father and grandfather were killed in a train crash in Queens, NY, in 1940. This event, though harrowing, did not deter him from pursuing his passion for art. Quaytman's educational journey began at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, from 1955 to 1957, but it was at Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, where he graduated in 1959 with a BFA, that his artistic talents truly began to flourish. It was here that he met and married Susan Howe, a fellow painting student who would go on to become an award-winning American postmodern poet. The couple had a daughter, Rebecca Quaytman, in 1961, who is now a well-regarded abstract painter, continuing the family's artistic legacy. In 1963, Quaytman and his family moved to Soho, New York City, marking the beginning of his professional career in the arts. However, his marriage to Howe ended in divorce two years later, after which he married painter Frances Barth. This marriage, too, ended in divorce in 1980. Quaytman's personal life saw another chapter when he married writer Margaret Moorman in November 1989, with whom he had a daughter, Emma, born the same year. Quaytman's artistic style is distinguished by its geometric abstraction, characterized by large modernist canvases with powerful monochromatic tones, layered compositions, and often hard edges. His work was inspired by the likes of Malevich and Mondrian, and he was known for moving abstract painting beyond the mundane into the realm of cognitive understanding through a heightened sensory experience. Over his career, Quaytman had more than 60 solo exhibitions, and his works are held in the collections of many top public museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, and Neuberger Museum of Art. Quaytman's contributions to the art world were recognized through numerous awards and honors. He was awarded a CAPS Grant in both 1972 and 1975, a Guggenheim Fellowship in both 1979 and 1985, an Artist’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983, and became a Member of the National Academy of Design by 1993. His work and influence were celebrated in retrospectives and symposiums, such as the "Harvey Quaytman: Against the Static" retrospective and symposium mounted by the Berkeley Art Museum in 2018. Harvey Quaytman passed away in New York on April 8, 2002, from cancer, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire and influence the world of abstract art. His dedication to exploring the sensory and cognitive aspects of abstract painting has made him a pivotal figure in the modernist movement, and his works continue to be celebrated and studied for their innovative approach and profound impact on the art world.

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