An American painter and printmaker, Frank Stella was an innovator. Born in 1936 in Malden, Massachusetts Frank Stella attended Princeton University, where he majored in history. It was during this time that he painted loose, gestural abstractions in the tradition of the New York School, but did not seriously entertain the idea of a career in the arts. With constant visits to New York however, a Jasper John’s exhibition changed his mind as he was impressed by the factuality of the work and the geometric patterns of the rings and stripes that formed the images. After graduating, Stella moved to New York where he took up painting seriously and it was after two accidental paintings that he found his success.