Morris Louis

Morris Louis (1912-1962), American abstract painter. Originally working in a late Cubist manner, he was heavily influenced after 1952 by Helen Frankenthaler's method of painting without brushes—by staining raw canvas with poured acrylic paint. In his Veil series (1954 and 1958) thin washes of paint are used to create translucent curtains of colour on the canvas. In his Florals (1960-1961) heavier paint is used in more haphazard bursts. In the Unfurled series (1961), thin brilliant streams of colour flow across the lower corners of otherwise empty canvases, while in the Stripe and Pillar series (1961-1962), coloured bands are juxtaposed vertically or horizontally.