Background
He was born and raised in New York City where he developed a passion for art early in his life.
He was born and raised in New York City where he developed a passion for art early in his life.
Budnick studied under Hans Hofmann, an abstract expressionist artist and teacher, and was friends with Harry Holtzman and Carl Holty, founders of the American Abstract Artists group.
While living in New York, Sidney Budnick met the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. Budnick was greatly influenced by Mondrian"s work and the De Stijl art movement. Sidney Budnick also was encouraged by Hilla Rebay, the artistic advisor for Solomon R. Guggenheim.
In 1939, Guggenheim and Rebay opened the Museum of Non-objective Painting, later named the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Rebay supported many artist, including Sidney Budnick, by hiring them as support staff at the museum. Some of Sidney Budnick"s early work is classified with other works of the Museum of Non-objective Painting.
After serving in the army during World World War II, Budnick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at the IIT Institute of Design. While there, he studied under László Moholy-Nagy, the founding director of the New Bauhaus and head of the School of Design (renamed the Institute of Design in 1944).
Sidney Budnick was an architect for the Department of Parks and Recreation for the State of California for many years.
Sidney Budnick"s work was included in an exhibition organized by Katherine Kuh at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1948, entitled "American Abstract and Surrealist Artist" His work is included in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art and the J. Donald Nichols collection.
