American Abstract expressionist painter most recognized for his large-scale, Hard-edge paintings. He began experimenting with perspective and spatial conundrums in black-and-white images in 1967.
His interest in art was fostered after being discharged from the Navy in 1947 and becoming friends with Nicholas Krushenick. He studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris for three years.
He received the prestigious Logan Medal of the Arts award in 1966.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a poor Jewish family who was forced to live on welfare because of the Great Depression. He was raised in the East Bronx.
He and artist Willem de Kooning were known especially for their Abstract Expressionist paintings.