Cy Twombly

Known for: gestural painting drawing on classical antiquity

Cy Twombly developed a practice of large-scale painting that drew on classical literature, ancient history, and the physical act of writing — scrawling, scratching, looping lines across the surface in chalk, oil, and graphite — producing works that occupy the space between painting and inscription. He lived in Rome from 1957 onward, and the Mediterranean landscape and its mythological associations pervade his work. His Untitled (1970) sold for $70.5 million at Sotheby's in 2015.