31 Facts About Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem was born on Hunt Slonim; July 18,1951 and is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker.

Hunt Slonem is best known for his Neo-Expressionist paintings of butterflies, bunnies, and his tropical birds, often based on a personal aviary in which he has been keeping from 30 to over 100 live birds of various species.

Hunt Slonem was born in Kittery, Maine, in an upper middle class family, the eldest of four children.

Hunt Slonem lived in Hawaii, Virginia, Connecticut, California and Washington State.

Hunt Slonem's grandmother was a Tennessee native who married a Minnesota-born amateur artist and educator who became the Superintendent of Public Schools in Duluth, Minnesota.

Hunt Slonem's younger brother, Jeffrey Slonim, is a prolific journalist, and contributing editor of the Interview Magazine, and his cousin is the best-selling author Tama Janowitz.

Hunt Slonem then spent about six months of his sophomore year at the University of the Americas in San Andres Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, but later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Painting and Art History from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hunt Slonem took courses at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where he was exposed to such influential artists from the New York area as Louise Nevelson, Alex Katz, Alice Neel, Richard Estes, Jack Levine, and Al Held.

Hunt Slonem moved to New York in 1973 to further his art practice, and Manhattan had become his consistent base ever since.

Hunt Slonem was unhappy at his job and seriously considered moving to Amsterdam when, unexpectedly, in 1975, he got a call from artist Janet Fish who offered him her studio for the summer.

Shortly afterwards, In 1976, Hunt Slonem received a painting grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and began painting in earnest.

Hunt Slonem soon became a habitue of New York's trendiest hot spots and an active participant in the city's burgeoning art scene.

Hunt Slonem's move to New York had a profound influence on his development as an artist.

Hunt Slonem's paintings expressed a strong affinity for nature, especially the various species of exotic butterflies and tropical birds living on the island.

Hunt Slonem soon became well known for creating grisaille paintings of small birds in their cages.

Hunt Slonem often painted them wet-on-wet and grit off the surfaces to denote wire enclosures after the birds had been strategically placed.

Hunt Slonem's paintings are layered with thick brushstrokes of vivid color, often cut into in a cross-hatched pattern that adds texture to the overall surface of the painting.

Rather, Hunt Slonem's work is deeply rooted in the act of painting.

Hunt Slonem is interested in history and memorabilia, and for him, the "larger-than-life" Lincoln is a catchall.

Apart from painting, Hunt Slonem is making sculptures, like the sizable, "Tocos," an 18-foot acrylic and aluminum tower of toucans exhibited at the Polk Museum of Art in 2012.

In 2009, Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store in New York City, recreated Hunt Slonem's distinct art-filled living room for its windows display.

In 2008, German automaker Audi enlisted Hunt Slonem to create an exclusive design for its sleek new A5 coupe, and he created a one-of-a-kind design based on one of his oil painting for the car's exterior.

Since 1977, Hunt Slonem had solo shows at many prestigious contemporary art galleries including the Fischbach Gallery in New York and the Serge Sorokko Gallery in San Francisco.

Hunt Slonem's work has been exhibited globally, including in Madras, Quito, Venice, Gustavia, San Juan, Guatemala City, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Stockholm, Oslo, Cologne, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

Hunt Slonem has been an active participant in the Art in Embassies Program sponsored by the United States Department of State, alongside other American artists including Jim Dine, Julian Schnabel, Sol LeWitt, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jeff Koons, who received the first ever Medal of Arts from the Department of State for his "outstanding commitment" to the program.

Hunt Slonem's paintings are widely represented in important private collections all over the world.

Until 2010, Hunt Slonem occupied a Tenth Street studio in Manhattan that was 40,000 square feet, divided into 89 rooms.

In 2010, Hunt Slonem moved to a 15,000 square foot fourth floor former headquarters of the film company Moviola, on West 45th Street.

The space served as his painting studio and was divided into a number of small rooms, all of which Hunt Slonem painted in old Louisiana plantation-house colors.

Hunt Slonem sold this property in 2021 to Louisiana natives Liz and Terry Creel.

In 2021, Hunt Slonem purchased the Searles Castle in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.