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Syd Solomon (July 12, 1917 – January 28, 2004) was an American abstract artist. He spent most of his time in his homes in both East Hampton, NY and Sarasota, Florida, both of which influenced many of his paintings. His works have been presented at The Guggenheim, The Whitney, Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Wadsworth Athenaeum and several others.
Solomon's art was included in several national exhibitions throughout the 1950s. In 1955, the couple first visited East Hampton, New York, which soon after became their second home. By 1959, the Solomons had developed the ritual of spending winter and spring in Sarasota and then autumn in the Hamptons. Solomon continued this dual lifestyle for the next 30 years. The environmental settings of his two homes worked as inspiration for his paintings. By this point, the Solomon family had grown to include a daughter, Michele, and later a son, Michael. By 1959 the artist had begun regular showings at the Saidenberg Gallery in New York while also doing shows in both the Hamptons and Miami.
In the 1960s, Solomon's reputation reached a high point and he was being shown at many of the finest museums in the world. In 1961 he received several awards and accolades including the 13th New England Annual and the Painting of the Year from the Whitney Museum of American Art. This popularity made him an influential personality in both his Hamptons and Sarasota communities. He helped bring many well-established artists down to Florida after he started his Institute of Fine Art at New College. These artists included James Brooks, Larry Rivers, and Conrad Marca-Relli. The Solomon home in the Hamptons had become a sort of cultural gathering spot for many famous artist and writers.
In 1970, Solomon, with the help of architect Gene Leedy, built his award winning home and studio on Siesta Key in Sarasota. In 1975 the New York Cultural Center and the Ringling Museum held retrospective exhibitions of the artist's works.
Around 1990, Solomon began to display symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. After a long battle with the disease, Solomon died on January 24, 2004, at 86 years old. He died at Sarasota, Florida.
He also received many awards in his lifetime including the State Department U.S. Cultural Exchange program to Israel and the Ford Foundation Special Purchase Grant for the Guggenheim Museum. Also he received the Painting of the year from the Whitney as well as the 13th New England Annual.
| Brevard College |
| Paintings of the Circus at Sarasota Art Association |
| Annual Exhibition at the American Water Color Society 1955 |
| Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center |
| Adelphi University |
| Baltimore Museum of Art |
| Chrysler Art Museum |
| Guggenheim Museum |
| High Museum of Art |
| New Orleans Museum of Art |
| Wadsworth Museum |
| Whitney Museum of American Art |
| Witte Memorial Museum |
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