Robert Bob Stanley

"MELANIE"

1987

Bob Stanley (b. 1932 - d. 1997 New York, United States), an American painter renowned for his gritty depictions on canvas, which ingeniously incorporated photographs. His artistic journey began with collage before he shifted towards painting, drawing inspiration from the iconic Pop artists of the early 1960s, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Stanley made his debut with a solo exhibition at Paul Bianchini in 1965, thereafter captivating audiences with regular showcases in both New York City and Europe throughout his career. Stanley's paintings, characterized by their enlarged scale and vibrant use of two saturated colors, straddled the line between abstraction and explicitness with finesse. His diverse subjects ranged from musicians and sporting events to provocative imagery like pornography. In the late 1960s, Stanley embarked on a new artistic phase, incorporating his own photographs into his work. He drew inspiration from various sources, including tree branches and life-drawing models from his tenure at New York's School of Visual Arts, where he shared his passion for art with students for 16 years. Stanley's work is represented in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan; The Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington and the Milwaukee Art Museum.