Joe Stefanelli (1921 - 2017)

Joe Stefanelli

Joe Stefanelli, birth name Joseph J. Stefanelli, is an American abstractionist painter of the New York School.

After studying at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1942 to 1946, Joe Stefanelli worked as a military illustrator in the service of the United States Army. In 1947, he enrolled at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in New York City. This art school, opened in 1934, was a major influence on the young artists of the New York School.

Stefanelli was an artist of the first generation of American Abstract Expressionists, whose members also included Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, and others. Their influence and artistic innovation were recognized worldwide by the 1950s. The New York School of Abstract Expressionism became the leading art movement after World War II.

Joe Stefanelli held various teaching positions from 1960 to 1979, including at the University of California and Princeton University, New York University, Columbia University, Brooklyn College and Temple University in Rome. His work is represented in many museums and collections.