Paton Miller

United States, 1953

One of the most widely respected artists on the East End of Long Island, Miller was born in Seattle and raised in Hawaii. As a young man, he travelled throughout Asia and Europe but, in 1974, he fell in love with the topography of the South Fork and decided to make it his home. In the early days of his life in the Hamptons, Miller found himself in the studios of Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Larry Rivers and Frank Stella, “a great experience for a young artist”. He also befriended Fairfield Porter’s widow, Anne, and came to paint in the late Porter’s studio for over twenty years.

Miller creates dreamlike paintings of animals, human figures and metaphorical objects by layering, scraping and scratching the paint surface -- his color palette is an earthy “dirt and sky” where the rustic cohabits with the refined, the primitive with the contemporary. This prolific artist has had over 25 solo exhibitions and he has participated in numerous group shows both here in the U.S. and abroad. Miller’s work can also be found in important private collections and museums and it has been reviewed by a variety of respected publications including The New York Times and Art Forum.

The artist attended the Honolulu Academy of Arts and he was awarded a Presidential Scholarship at Southampton College. Miller has taught at Long Island University and the Art Barge in Montauk -- he also established the Paton Miller School of Painting and Drawing where he has taught for 40 years. In addition, the artist has curated for the East End Collected Series since 2002 and he co-curated for the Heckscher Art Museum in 2020. As accomplished as this gifted painter/teacher/curator is, he is also an active and enthusiastic champion of the work of fellow artists in the community.