Lyn Ott
Encyclopedia
Lynfield George Ott better known as Lyn Ott, was an American
painter and a follower of Meher Baba
.
in 1926 to Irene and Lester Ott (vice president of W. T. Grant
). Ott was born with retinitis pigmentosa
, a hereditary degenerative eye disease that leads almost inevitably to blindness. In spite of this, Ott's father Lester encouraged him to pursue his interest in painting.
Ott graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design
in 1947. He established a studio in SoHo
in New York City
and exhibited in several one-man shows at the Lovisco Gallery in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which received positive reviews.
In 1958, Ott settled in Woodstock, New York
and joined the Art Students League of New York
. There he began a long-term partnership with fellow painter and spiritual seeker Phyllis Vita Silverman. They had two children, Chris and Leslie, and raised two others, Mimi and Betsy, from Phyllis' previous marriage.
. They traveled to India where they met Meher Baba in 1965. In his book, In Quest of the Face of God, Ott wrote that prior to meeting Meher Baba art had been his religion, but after meeting Meher Baba, Ott became devoted to him and painted him almost exclusively.
In 1966, the Ott family settled at the Meher Spiritual Center
in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
. There, despite increasingly poor eyesight, Ott produced approximately 500 paintings of Meher Baba. To compensate for his failing vision, he worked under bright floodlights with his face inches from the canvas. He also produced collaborative art with Phyllis and other local artists. His artistic career was ended by his complete blindness in 1976, at which time he attended the South Carolina Commission for the Blind , and gave up painting. Today Ott's paintings of Meher Baba are found in collections around the world. The 17 murals that he and his wife Phyllis painted in 1975 can be seen on permanent exhibit in the Meher Pilgrim Center
in Meherabad
, near Ahmednagar, India
.
Ott died at the Meher Center 1998, three days before his 72nd birthday, survived by Phyllis and their four children. He published one book, "In Quest of the Face of God", and completed a memoir
, Journey Out of Darkness, that remains unpublished.
, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Salvador Dalí
, and Claude Monet
. He was interested also in William Blake
and Nicholas Roerich
. He even described finding inspiration in the caricaturic genius of Walt Disney
and the popularism of Norman Rockwell
. He has been described as an action painter
, an abstract expressionist
, and an impressionist
. Among the artists who either studied under Ott or were influenced by him were James Frisino , Bruce Herman, James Meyer, Laurie Blum , Mark Brosgol, and Will David.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter and a follower of Meher Baba
Meher Baba
Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
.
Biography
Ott was born in Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
in 1926 to Irene and Lester Ott (vice president of W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns.-History:...
). Ott was born with retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...
, a hereditary degenerative eye disease that leads almost inevitably to blindness. In spite of this, Ott's father Lester encouraged him to pursue his interest in painting.
Ott graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
in 1947. He established a studio in SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and exhibited in several one-man shows at the Lovisco Gallery in the late 1950s and early 1960s, which received positive reviews.
In 1958, Ott settled in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
and joined the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. There he began a long-term partnership with fellow painter and spiritual seeker Phyllis Vita Silverman. They had two children, Chris and Leslie, and raised two others, Mimi and Betsy, from Phyllis' previous marriage.
Meeting Meher Baba
In 1964 Ott and his wife came in contact with the Indian spiritual master Meher BabaMeher Baba
Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
. They traveled to India where they met Meher Baba in 1965. In his book, In Quest of the Face of God, Ott wrote that prior to meeting Meher Baba art had been his religion, but after meeting Meher Baba, Ott became devoted to him and painted him almost exclusively.
In 1966, the Ott family settled at the Meher Spiritual Center
Meher Spiritual Center
The Meher Spiritual Center is a spiritual retreat nestled in a pine forest along the Atlantic Ocean between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and adjacent to Briarcliffe Acres...
in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
. There, despite increasingly poor eyesight, Ott produced approximately 500 paintings of Meher Baba. To compensate for his failing vision, he worked under bright floodlights with his face inches from the canvas. He also produced collaborative art with Phyllis and other local artists. His artistic career was ended by his complete blindness in 1976, at which time he attended the South Carolina Commission for the Blind , and gave up painting. Today Ott's paintings of Meher Baba are found in collections around the world. The 17 murals that he and his wife Phyllis painted in 1975 can be seen on permanent exhibit in the Meher Pilgrim Center
Meher Pilgrim Center
Meher Pilgrim Center is a central administrative facility for the Meher Baba pilgrim retreat in Meherabad near Ahmednagar, India. From June 19, 1980 until March 15, 2006 it housed short-term accommodations for pilgrims visiting Meher Baba's samadhi in Meherabad and his final home in Meherazad...
in Meherabad
Meherabad
Meherabad was originally an ashram established by Meher Baba near Arangaon Village, India in 1923 about south of Ahmednagar. It is now the site of Meher Baba's samadhi as well as facilities and accommodations for pilgrims...
, near Ahmednagar, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Ott died at the Meher Center 1998, three days before his 72nd birthday, survived by Phyllis and their four children. He published one book, "In Quest of the Face of God", and completed a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, Journey Out of Darkness, that remains unpublished.
Style and influence
It is difficult to categorize Ott's artistic style. He admitted being impressed and influenced by eminent artists from many eras and schools of painting including Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Willem De KooningWillem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, and Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
. He was interested also in William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
and Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh , was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. A prolific artist, he created thousands of paintings and about 30 literary works...
. He even described finding inspiration in the caricaturic genius of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and the popularism of Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
. He has been described as an action painter
Action painting
Action painting sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied...
, an abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, and an impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. Among the artists who either studied under Ott or were influenced by him were James Frisino , Bruce Herman, James Meyer, Laurie Blum , Mark Brosgol, and Will David.