Tom Wesselmann

Tom Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1931. He is an important Pop Art artist. Today, his works can be found in countless collections of major international museums and collections.
Wesselmann initially studied psychology in Ohio and only found his way to art in the 1950s, during his military service in Korea, when he began drawing cartoons. After the war, he studied art at the Art Academy in Cincinnati and later at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York, where he was taught by Nicolas Marsicano.
In his early works, Wesselmann was still influenced by abstract expressionism, but turned to pop art from 1959 onwards. Inspired by advertising posters, film and television, he created works that soon secured his international breakthrough in the 1960s.
The image of the modern woman became a central motif in Wesselmann's art. He became particularly well known for his large-format depictions of female body parts such as the mouth and breasts, which he presented in bright colours and abstract forms. From the 1980s onwards, Wesselmann increasingly experimented with materials such as steel and aluminium and created impressive, colourful aluminium cut-outs.
Tom Wesselmann died in New York in 2004 at the age of 73 following a heart operation.