Altoon Sultan

Altoon Sultan (born 1948) is an American artist known for her small-scale egg tempera paintings depicting rural and agricultural landscapes. Her works, characterized by formalist realism, often focus on close-up details of farm equipment rendered with abstract precision. She resides and works in Groton, Vermont.

Sultan was born in Brooklyn, New York. She earned a BFA in 1969 and an MFA in 1971 from Brooklyn College, where she studied under Philip Pearlstein and Lois Dodd. She also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine.^[1]

Sultan's work merges realist representation with a minimalist sensibility. Her imagery frequently consists of cropped views of agricultural equipment, painted in egg tempera on calfskin parchment. These images are based on photographs she takes during the summer, often of the Vermont landscape, transforming industrial forms into near-abstractions composed of vivid color and geometric composition. Critics have compared her use of form to Ellsworth Kelly’s approach.^[2]

Sultan maintains the blog 'Studio and Garden', sharing photographs, reflections on her art-making, and exhibition visits.^[3]

Sultan has exhibited widely in the United States and internationally since the 1970s. She has been represented by Marlborough Gallery (New York), Tibor de Nagy Gallery (New York), Chris Sharp Gallery (Los Angeles), Hollybush Gardens (London), and Zero… (Milan). Her works are included in numerous public collections.

• 2025: Paintings, Zero…, Milan, Italy
• 2024: New Paintings, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
• 2023: Altoon Sultan, Hollybush Gardens, London, UK
• 2022: Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
• 2021: Paintings, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
• 2020: Drawings and a Painting, Feuilleton, Los Angeles, CA
• 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014: McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY
• 2007: Monuments of Architecture, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY
• 2009: Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT
• 1979–1991: Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY

• 2022: Still Life and the Poetry of Place, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, NY
• 2022: A Minor Constellation, Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
• 2021: The Stubborn Influence of Painting, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, CO
• 2017: Philip Pearlstein: A Legacy of Influence, Princeton, NJ
• 1984: American Realism: Twentieth Century Drawings and Watercolors, SFMOMA, CA
• 1991: The Landscape in 20th Century American Art, Philbrook Museum of Art, OK

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Yale University Art Gallery
• National Museum of Women in the Arts
• National Gallery of Australia
• Tate Gallery, London
• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
• Portland Museum of Art, Maine
• Shelburne Museum
• Addison Gallery of American Art

• 2024: ARCO Madrid, Hollybush Gardens
• 2023: Basel Social Club, Chris Sharp Gallery
• 2022: Art Basel Miami, Hollybush Gardens
• 2022: Frieze London, Hollybush Gardens
• 2022: Independent Art Fair, Chris Sharp Gallery, New York, NY
• CODE Art Fair, Steve Turner, Copenhagen

• 2012: Walter Cerf Medal, Vermont Council on the Arts
• 2001: J. Sanford Saltus Gold Medal, National Academy of Design
• 1999: Prix Duc de Valverde d’Ayala Valva, Fondation Monaco
• 1999: Academy Award in Art, American Academy of Arts and Letters
• 1995: Elected Member, National Academy of Design
• 1989 & 1983: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grants

• The Luminous Brush: Painting with Egg Tempera. Watson-Guptill, 1999. ISBN 0-8230-2888-7

• “Culture/Cultivation: Thoughts on Painting the Landscape.” Art Journal, vol. 57, no. 4, 1998.
• “Altoon Sultan on Piero di Cosimo.” Painters on Paintings, 2018.

• Artforum: Cameron, Red. “Altoon Sultan.” (2024)
• The New York Times: Heinrich, Will. “An Elegant Return to Form at Independent Art Fair.” (2022)
• Hyperallergic: Yau, John. “Altoon Sultan’s Powerful Challenge.” (2021)
• Art in America: Ebony, David. “Altoon Sultan.” (2019)
• Art & Object: Parker, Dian. “The Allure and Power of the Color Teal.” (2022)
• Artnet: Brown, Kate. “Grit, Glamour, and Lots of Great Art.” (2023)

Sultan resides in Groton, Vermont.^[4]