25 Facts About Burgoyne Diller

Burgoyne A Diller was an American abstract painter.

Burgoyne Diller was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists.

Burgoyne Diller did figurative and representational works early in his career working as a muralist for the New York City Federal Arts Project.

Burgoyne Diller's father died in 1908, while Diller was just three years old.

Burgoyne Diller graduated from Michigan State University in 1927 and moved to Buffalo, New York, where he lived with his maternal grandfather.

In Buffalo, Burgoyne Diller worked many odd jobs before landing a steady position as a janitor.

Burgoyne Diller enjoyed success and recognition at the League and was awarded a scholarship job at the school's bookstore.

Burgoyne Diller ended up leaving the Art Students League in 1933 and took up a position with the Works Progress Administration.

In 1943 Burgoyne Diller enlisted in the US Navy and was assigned to the Training Aids Development Center.

Burgoyne Diller was awarded a patent for the invention in 1945.

Burgoyne Diller was released from active duty after World War II in November 1945 as a lieutenant and remained in the naval reserve until 1954, retiring with the rank of lieutenant.

In 1946 Burgoyne Diller was hired as an assistant professor at Brooklyn College and was promoted to a full-time position.

Burgoyne Diller was granted tenure at the college in 1949.

Burgoyne Diller remained on the faculty until his death in 1965.

In 1930 Burgoyne Diller married Sarah "Sally" Bernadette Conboy, who worked in the classified department of The New York Times.

That same summer, while visiting his mother and stepfather in Michigan, Burgoyne Diller met Grace Kelso LaCrone who had just separated from her husband.

Once her divorce was finalized, she and Burgoyne Diller married in 1955.

Burgoyne Diller died that very year at the age of 59 due to complications of heart disease and pulmonary edema while at the French Hospital in Manhattan.

In 1934, Burgoyne Diller served as Supervisor for Mural Painting for the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration.

Burgoyne Diller felt that artists, as a whole, were greatly under-appreciated in American society.

Burgoyne Diller understood the struggles of being an artist in the early 20th century.

Burgoyne Diller felt that compared to other artists, abstract artists struggled the most to gain publicity in the American art world.

Burgoyne Diller found inspiration in the work of Russian Constructivist Kazimir Malevich and in the work of the De Stijl artists Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg.

Again and again we see Burgoyne Diller grandly setting up a central square adumbrated by lesser geometrical entities.

Burgoyne Diller's work is represented in numerous museum collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.