Myron Stout

Myron Stout (1908–1987) was an American abstract painter whose geometric paintings and drawings bridged the styles of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism.

He was born in Denton, Texas. During his senior year at North Texas State University he decided to become a painter, but his progress was halting. He worked as a teacher, and spent part of his time painting landscapes, none of which are known to survive. After military service in World War II, he resumed painting with renewed commitment. In 1946 he began studies with Hans Hofmann. Stout's works of the period 1947–1952 show the influence of European geometric painting, and typically feature multiple intersecting vertical and horizontal bands of color. After about 1950, single forms rather than patterns dominated some of his paintings.

In 1952 Stout relocated to Provincetown. In the autumn of that year his readings of Greek mythology, especially the tragedies of Sophocles and Aeschylus, inspired a new direction in his art. Working in black and white, usually on a small scale, he painted flat monolithic shapes which often resembled forks, shields, or lyres.