HIGHLIGHT

William Fuller Curtis was born in 1873 on Staten Island. At the age of 17, he went to Paris and studied art at the Académie Julian alongside his sister, where he was greatly influenced by outstanding teachers. Before returning to the United States, he traveled through northern Italy, encountering Renaissance and medieval art as well as the legends of King Arthur, which gradually helped him to establish his own artistic style.

In 1903, he came into contact with the art critic Charles Eliot Norton and began to resonate with the ideas of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Curtis’s works are primarily created on wood panels, with the finest possible wood carefully selected. His pieces employ no color except for gold. The subtle variations in tone produced by burning the wood harmonize beautifully with the natural texture of the material. This combination gives his work a beauty that is both contemporary and rich with a medieval sensibility.