Syd Solomon, an influential American artist known for his pioneering use of acrylic paint, began his artistic journey in high school in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he launched a career in advertising, while taking 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. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving, among other commendations, five bronze stars. His wartime experience would have a lasting impact on his work.
Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, and after the war, he and his wife Francine Cohen (m. 1941) settled in Sarasota, Florida. There, Solomon began to experiment with new synthetic media, including the precursors to acrylic paints developed by chemist Guy Pascal. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation inspired by his camouflage 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.