(March 11, 1929 – October 21, 2018) Idabel Oklahoma, USA
An exhibit of art by Harold Stevenson will be on display at The Museum of the Red River from March 7th through August 23. A video of the exhibit can be seen at (5 minute video) and a slide show of the exhibit is available at (slide show)
Stevenson, graduated from high school in 1947, then briefly attended the University of Oklahoma before moving to New York City in 1949. Harold accepted a scholarship to attend Art Students League (ASL) New York, studying with Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Stevenson dropped out of ASL and met Andy Warhol. They became close friends and would remain so until Warhol’s death in 1987. Alexander Iolas, a Greek art dealer and gallery owner quickly signed on to represent the young artist from Oklahoma. Stevenson became the personal assistant to fashion designer, Charles James.
Stevenson moved to Europe in 1959. He exhibited at the 1962 Piccola Biennale and again at the 1964 Venice Biennale Flottante with gallery owner, Iris Clert. While living in Paris in 1962, Stevenson exhibited Le Sensuel Fantastique which included the portrait of his partner, Lord Timothy Willoughby de Eresby, of London. The exhibition was featured in LIFE magazine.
Although residing in Europe, Stevenson frequently returned to New York. Stevenson is credited with starring in Warhol’s first films, Harold (1963) and KISS (1963-64), and Paul Morrissey’s HEAT (1971). In 1962, Stevenson exhibited The Eye of Lightening Billy in the Sidney Janis exhibition, New Realists. In addition to Stevenson, the exhibition included works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Robert Indiana, Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Christo, Marisol, and others.
Stevenson is in the permanent collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Yale University Art Gallery; Blanton Gallery at the University of Texas, Austin; and private collections throughout the world. His work can always be found at the Museum of the Red River, Idabel OK.
If you have new information or paintings to be documented, please contact us.
