Cy Twombly’s Inspiration from Poetry and Other Factoids

In the 1950’s, Cy Twombly’s inspiration from ancient Greek literature, poetry and Roman mythology moved him to create large size paintings very different from the art movements of his time, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art.

As you browse his artwork below, you will discover insights into the man himself that shaped his art.

1. Cy Twombly was inspired by ancient Greek literature, poetry and Roman mythology. He has a series of eight drawings with the word “Virgil”.

2. He was a cryptologist in U.S. Army.

3. His father, also nicknamed “Cy”, pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

4. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Musee de Louvre in Paris.

5. His later works came to be known as “romantic symbolism” by its large shapes, forms and words.

6. He was born in Lexington, Virgina on 1928.

7. From 1955 to 1959, he worked and went to school in New York, where he became a prominent figure among other artists including Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

8. In May 2012, the 1970 painting “Untitled (New York)” at Sotheby’s sold for $ 17.4 million.

9. Across the bottom edge of one of his paintings, Twombly wrote a textual fragment from the poet Sappho: “But their heart turned cold and they dropped their wings.”