Joseph Stella (1877 - 1946) Italy. Mixed Media on Paper. Measure 10 1/2"in H x 6 1/2"in W and 15 3/4"in H x 11 3/4"in W with frame. Known for: Modernist figure, landscape and still life painting. Joseph Stella was born in Italy, and moved to New York City in 1896. He made a name for himself in the early 1900's as a Social-Realist illustrator. In 1912, however, he spent a year in Paris where he was greatly influenced by Fauvism, Cubism, and Futurism and made a radical change to a more abstract style. Stella returned to New York to exhibit several paintings in the 1913 Armory Show. Stella, along with recent New York arrivals Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray, became associated with the Walter and Louise Arensberg group. His work from this period catapulted Stella from obscure illustrator to that of famous American modernist. His work is included in the collections of most major American museums of art, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, NY and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.