The Exploding Aliveness of the World

his native Italy in 1896, he intended to study medicine. Stella instead pursued art, which he studied at the Art Students League of New York under William Merritt Chase. During 1905–1909, Stella illustrated magazines, and he continued to draw throughout a career marked by numerous shifts in his style and approach to art. According to a brief bio from the Phillips Collection website, Stella “began as an academic realist, but his mature work is in a modernist style, notable for its sweeping and dynamic lines.” During a return visit to Italy in 1909, Stella had his initial brush with modernism, specifically with the Italian Futurist school of painting. According to art critic Holland Carter, “Color entered his art with a bang when he was introduced to Italian Futurism.” Not long after returning to New York from Europe, Stella became immersed in