National Galleries of Scotland

Jon Schueler (American, 1916 - 1992)

Born in Milwaukee, Jon Schueler had a varied early career before becoming an artist. He began to paint in 1954 when he joined a weekly portrait painting class and later moved to San Francisco where he attended the California School of Fine Arts. The Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still was a teacher at the School, and became a mentor and important influence for Schueler. Visiting Scotland for the first time in 1957, Schueler set up a studio near Mallaig on the Sound of Sleat, a stretch of water that runs between the Scottish mainland and the Isle of Skye. Dramatic changes in weather are common in the area, reflecting for Schueler a real synthesis of Abstract Expressionism with nature. His atmospheric paintings convey a sense of the force of nature, its moods and drama.