ACA  Galleries in New York will exhibit works by  Theodoros  Stamos (1922  –  1997).  This  survey  includes   works   from   the   1940s  to  the  1990s   and  shows   how  the  natural  world  was  a  source  of   inspiration  and  imagery  throughout  his  career.  

Theodoros  Stamos  (1922-­‐1997),  the  youngest  member   of  the  first  generation  of  Abstract  Expressionists,  was  born  in  New  York  to  Greek  parents.  In  1936  he  won  a  scholarship  to  attend   American  Artists   School   where  he  studied  sculpture  until   1939   when  he  left   to  focus   on   painting.    Beginning  in  1941  he  ran  a  frame  shop  where  he  met  Arshile  Gorky  who  played  an   influential  role  in  his  early  biomorphic  paintings.  In  1943  Stamos  had  his  first  solo  exhibition  at   the  Wakefield  Gallery,  which  was  run  by  Betty  Parsons.  During  this  period  he  also  met  Adolph   Gottlieb  and  Barnett  Newman  who  wrote  about  Stamos’  painting  with  great  praise.  
 
Stamos’   work  was  included  in  the   Whitney  Annual  in  1945  and  the   following  year  the  Museum  of   Modern  Art  purchased  a  painting.  In   1947  he  met  Peggy  Guggenheim  and   Mark  Rothko,   who   would  become   close  friends.  His  first  solo  museum   show  was   at  The   Duncan  Phillips   Collection,  Washington  DC   in  1950   and  that  year  he  also  taught  at  Black   Mountain  College.  From  1955   through  1977  he  was  an  instructor  at   the  Art  Students  League.  Starting  in   1970   he  made  yearly  trips  to  the   island  of  Lefkada  in   Greece,  which   influenced  his  work  for  the  rest  of  his   life.    

Stamos  is  in  numerous  international  museum  collections  including  Albright-­‐Knox  Art  Gallery,   Buffalo,  NY;  Art  Gallery  of  Ontario,  Toronto,  Canada;  The  Art  Institute  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  IL;     Bayerische  Staatsgemaldesammlung,   Staatsgalerie  Moderner  Kunst,  Munich,  Germany;   The   Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art,  Washington,  DC;  The  Detroit  Institute  of  Arts,  Detroit,  MI;  Hirshhorn   Museum  and  Sculpture  Garden,  Washington,  DC;  The  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  New  York,   NY;  Museu  d’Arte  Moderno,  Rio  de  Jenairo,  Brazil;  The  Museum  of  Modern  Art,  New  York,  NY;   Museum  Modernor  Kunst,  Vienna,  Austria;  National  Picture  Gallery,  Athens,  Greece  National   Pinacotek,  Athens,  Greece,  The  Phillips  Collection,  Washington,  DC,  Solomon  R.  Guggenheim   Museum,  New  York,  NY;  Tel  Aviv  Museum,  Tel  Aviv,  Israel;  Whitney  Museum  of  Art,  New  York,   NY  among  others.