His artistic style was lauded by publications like LIFE and the New York Times, with the latter remarking that his work was “jazzy and up-to-date...an artist to watch”. He went on to be commissioned to paint the covers of famous titles like TIME magazine and capture public figures like John Wayne and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. From 1965, he taught at universities including the University of Idaho and University of California before being offered a visiting professorship at the University of Oregon. His work in these years often featured social and political affairs such as the Vietnam War. Gill created a series of anti-war paintings which dealt with civil and military leaders. The combination of his expressionist art and his graphite pencil went against the trend of this time. In Gill’s arsenal of work from this time, we see what would become some of the emerging styles of the household names of Pop Art. His recognition as an artist has not only been based on the portraits of famous personalities, but to a large extent on his varied works some of which turned the political power structure and the war itself into question.An important work from this period is ‘Political Prisoner’ (1968). In 1967, alongside Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Edward Hopper, he represented the United States at the Sao Paulo 9 Biennale in Brazil – marking his breakthrough in the international art world. In 1972, despite huge success, he chose to go into self-imposed exile to develop his artistic expression away from the constraints of the celebrity limelight. During this time, his ‘Marilyn Triptych’ stayed in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it resides to this day.
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