Skip Navigation
Jared Keller

Jared Keller - Jared Keller is an associate editor for The Atlantic and The Atlantic Wire. He has also written for Lapham's Quarterly's Deja Vu blog, National Journal's The Hotline, Boston's Weekly Dig, and Preservation magazine. 

Tony Curtis: Iconic Actor, Abstract Painter

By Jared Keller
Sep 30 2010, 11:25 AM ET Comment

REDTABLE_post.jpg
Tony Curtis, the movie star best known for his roles in The Defiant Ones (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), Spartacus (1960), and The Great Race (1965), died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in his Las Vegas home. During the peak of his career, Curtis was widely recognized as both an talented actor and visual darling of the silver screen. The New York Times' Dave Kehr writes that "with his dark, curly hair, worn in a sculptural style later imitated by Elvis Presley, and plucked eyebrows framing pale blue eyes and wide, full lips, Mr. Curtis embodied a new kind of feminized male beauty that came into vogue in the early 1950s."

But few know that Curtis led a second career as an artist beginning in the early 1960s. He often cited Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Balthus as his major influences.""When I paint, I don't paint shapes, I paint colors. The most difficult thing to do is verbalize a painting. When I start painting, I have no idea what I'm going to do. The first color I use--that tells me where the painting is going. It paints itself, and the painting tells me when it's finished. It's almost as if it does it for me," Curtis told the Los Angeles Times in 1989 at an exhibition of his work in Beverly Hills. "I wear my Picasso hat and Matisse shorts and my Arnold Schwarzenegger tank top and I paint!"

Curtis' paintings are featured in galleries around the world, including London, Paris, and New York. One of the highlights of his artistic career came in 2007 when his painting, The Red Table, went on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. You can find a gallery of his artwork here.

Presented by

More at The Atlantic

'Hysteria' Turns the Vibrator Into Inspirational Cinema 'Hysteria': Finally, a Sharp Drama About the Vibrator
Does the Supreme Court Believe in Double Jeopardy Protections? Does the Supreme Court Believe in Double Jeopardy Protections?
Ray Bradbury on Facing Rejection ... and Being Inspired by Snoopy Ray Bradbury on Facing Rejection and Snoopy
The Fake Magazines Used in Blade Runner Are Still Futuristic, Awesome Hey, Is That Really the Magazine From the Movie 'Blade Runner'?
How the Global Middle Class Can Save the American Middle Class How the Global Middle Class Can Save America's Middle Class

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Just In

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Where in the World? Part 3: A Google Earth Puzzle

May 25, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)