Syd Solomon, born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917, was an influential American artist known for his pioneering use of acrylic paint. Solomon began his artistic journey in high school in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he was also a standout football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. During World War II, he served in the First Camouflage Battalion, using his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals and design protective concealment for crucial military operations. His wartime experience would have a lasting impact on his work.
After the war, Solomon settled in Sarasota, Florida, and became a prominent figure in the art community. He experimented with new synthetic media and was among the first to use acrylic paint. Solomon became known for his innovations with aerosol sprays and resists, a technique influenced by his military experience.
In the 1960s, Solomon became a significant influence in the Hamptons and Florida art scenes, founding the Institute of Fine Art at New College in Sarasota and attracting notable artists to teach there, including Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, James Brooks, Conrad Marca-Relli, Jimmy Ernst, John Chamberlain, James Rosenquist, and Robert Rauschenberg. His home in the Hamptons became a hub for artists and writers.
Solomon's contributions to the art world were recognized through various awards and exhibitions, including a major retrospective at the New York Cultural Center and a solo exhibition at the Ringling Museum in 1990. He passed away in Sarasota in 2004 after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Solomon's work is represented in numerous prestigious collections, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.