Abstract Artist And East End Resident Jack Youngerman Dies at 93

Famed abstract artist and East End resident Jack Youngerman died on February 19 in Stony Brook. He was 93 years old and the reported cause of death came from complications resulting from a fall.

On the day after his death, fellow artist and friend Frank Stella said of Mr. Youngerman, “I miss Jack and I miss the enthusiasm and touch that made his paintings so striking. It was as though beauty was imprinted into the canvas of our time.”

Mr. Youngerman was born on March 25, 1926, in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1929, he moved with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived until the age of 17. He then embarked on his studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia. In 1944, he entered the U.S. Navy Officers Training Program at the university of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and there, enrolled in his first art course in drawing. In 1946, Mr. Youngerman received a Navy commission for duty in the Atlantic fleet and was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia and Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1947, Mr. Youngerman returned to the University of Missouri where he received a B.A. degree in journalism. That fall, he moved to Paris on a G.I. Scholarship, enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Jean Souverbie.

In 1948, Mr. Youngerman met Ellsworth Kelly and the two formed a lasting friendship. In Paris, he also befriended fellow students Eduardo Paolozzi, Arman, and César. Also during this time, he travelled extensively through Europe and the Middle East.

In 1950, Mr. Youngerman married French actress Delphine Seyrig (1932-1990), the same year as his first group exhibition, “Les Mains éblouies” at Galerie Maeght in Paris. In 1956, their son, Duncan Pierre, was born. Through his father-in-law, Henri Seyrig, an archeologist, art connoisseur and future director of the Musées de France, he met and became close friends with Alexander Calder. The artist’s exposure to contemporary art in post-war France was critical to his development and Mr. Youngerman began introducing aspects of geometric abstraction and Constructivism into his painting.

In the summer of 1956, American art dealer Betty Parsons visited Mr. Youngerman’s Paris studio and encouraged him to move to New York City. In December, he, his wife and son did just that, renting space in Coenties Slip, an area of lower Manhattan consisting largely of abandoned loft buildings that eventually became a legendary artists colony. Friends and neighbors included Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin and Robert Rauschenberg.

Mr. Youngerman’s first one-person show at Betty Parsons Gallery marked his 1958 New York City debut. His career continued with exhibitions at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In 1959, his work was featured in a landmark exhibition curated by Dorothy Miller at the museum of Modern Art. More exhibitions followed around the world.

In 1968, Mr. Youngerman established a studio in Bridgehampton, and he moved there full time in 1995. Mr. Youngerman’s first marriage ended in divorce. Mr. Youngerman and his second wife, East End artist Hilary Helfant, had a son, Milo Daniel, in 1990.

His final exhibition, “Jack Youngerman, Works on Paper, 1954-2019” took place at The Drawing Room in East Hampton last year. Throughout his long life, Mr. Youngerman continued to exhibit his art to enthusiastic audiences across the U.S. and Europe. His art is represented in public and private collections around the globe.

In addition to his wife, Hilary Helfant, and sons Duncan and Milo, Mr. Youngerman is survived by four grandchildren. A private memorial service is planned.