Hugh Weiss, born June 5, 1925 in Philadelphia (United States) and died October 1, 2007 in Paris 16th, is a French painter of American origin.
The son of Maurice Weiss, a flag maker, and Esther Margles, he attended Philadelphia High School and then the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1940, after taking evening classes in watercolor the previous two years.
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In 1943, he entered the Barnes Foundation, graduated in art history, he would participate in the Pacific War during the Second World War. The vision of dismembered bodies would resurface in his paintings towards the end of his life. At the end of the war, he won several prizes and scholarships (GI Bill, Beaux Arts in Philadelphia, etc.) which allowed him to travel to Europe. In 1948, he settled in Paris, in the Montparnasse district and, at the invitation of Geneviève Asse, participated in the Salon des moins de trente ans.
In 1949, he traveled to Italy and met the photographer Sabine Weber, better known as Sabine Weiss, whom he married on September 23, 1950. Two months later, they moved into a small studio at the back of a courtyard in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. In 1964, the couple adopted a daughter whom they named Marion.
A first solo exhibition was organized in 1949. Between 1950 and 1975, he presented twenty-five exhibitions in galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. From 1951 to 1956, he traveled extensively with his wife, he painting and she photographing. In 1964, he created his first Soft Biplanes. He went to India for the first time in 1975 with his wife and won first prize at the New Delhi Triennial. He developed his theme of Elephants and other beasts from 1974 and moved on to Architectures in 1978.
The themes of Cathedrals and Domes began in 1980. The following year, he traveled to Egypt and remained marked by the concept of sacred boats from Egyptian mythology: the solar boat, Mésektet boat, Néchémet boat, Mândjyt boat or Henou boat. In 1986, he made a second trip to India. It was not until 1990 that he approached the theme of sacred boats and rivers, which he would continue until the year 2000.
In 1995, he obtained French nationality. If the Cobra movement influenced his work, Hugh Weiss' dreamlike painting, which offers imaginary journeys, stories with tragicomic drawers, escapes any classification. The last exhibition during his lifetime took place in Orléans, at the Le Garage gallery, from June 2 to July 1, 2007. The Villa Tamaris in La Seyne-sur-Mer exhibited it from November to December 2007.
