2011.07.06
Wednesday’s arts story: World-class Lexington artist Cy Twombly dies in Rome
[Blogger's note: This morning, as I browsed other stories about Cy Twombly's passing, I noticed a headline that claims Twombly "exiled" himself from the United States to pursue his art. As it turns out, this mistaken impression couldn't be further from the truth, as you'll read below.]
Associated Press | File 2010. American painter Cy Twombly, who had a residence in Lexington, conceived a tranquil blue composition that displays spheres and the names of Greek sculptors for the Louvre.
World famous abstract sculptor and painter Cy Twombly, who was born in Lexington and maintained a home there, died Tuesday in Rome after coping for years with cancer. He was 83.
Lexington-based photographer Sally Mann, one of his long time friends, wrote in an email, “I’m at a loss, for words and for comfort. His death just sucks the air out of the art atmosphere.”
Twombly’s best-known works incorporated frenzied scribbles, paint drips and passages from works in Latin. He intrigued and mystified audiences even as his paintings commanded more than $1 million when sold at auction.
His near complete avoidance of contact with news media garnered him a reputation as a recluse. But his friends and acquaintances in Western Virginia say that description couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Not only did I lose a boss, I lost a friend,” said Butch Bryant, 62, who Twombly hired to be his artistic assistant in 2001. “I lost somebody who cared about people and expressed it in his own way,” not just through his art, but through giving back to the community where he grew up.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
