Sean Scully Named Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris

Yesterday, Sean Scully was honored with the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Culture in Paris, where Minister Catherine Pégard presented the award. Originally from Dublin, Scully honed his artistic skills at Croydon School of Art and Newcastle University, focusing on abstraction. His iconic stripes and earth tones were inspired by a trip to Morocco in 1969. After receiving fellowships at Harvard in 1972 and 1975, he relocated to New York. In the early 1980s, his travels to Mexico prompted a transition to watercolour. His Wall of Light series was showcased in prominent US museums from 2005 to 2007. Scully has produced large-scale sculptures and exhibited worldwide, including significant retrospectives in Shanghai and Beijing in 2014. Now in his 80s, he continues to be a significant figure in the art world.