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Elaine Sturtevant (Elaine Frances Horan), (born Aug. 23, 1924, Lakewood, Ohio—died May 7, 2014, Paris, France), American artist who created considerable controversy in the 1960s and ’70s by reimagining the works of such famed artists as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, and Keith Haring prior to gaining acceptance in the 1980s and beyond for her appropriation art. Sturtevant’s aesthetic raised awareness not only about authenticity, celebrity, and originality but also about the creative process. Though some Pop artists, notably Warhol, remained unfazed by her work (Sturtevant devoted an entire solo show in 1966 to reproductions of screenprinted paintings from Warhol’s Flowers series), others bristled, especially Claes Oldenburg, who fumed after Sturtevant re-created (1967) one of his sculptural installations in a rented store. Prior to studying at the Art Students’ League, New York City, Sturtevant earned a master’s degree in psychology from Teachers College of Columbia University, New York City. Much of her later work incorporated video and installation pieces. In 2011 she was awarded a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale. At the time of her death, Sturtevant was anticipating an exhibit later in the year at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
