Artist Steve Kaufman dies at 49 in Colorado
Matthew Kruk
Artist Steve Kaufman dies at 49 in Colorado
By Erin Dostal (contact)
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 | 9:53 p.m.
Steve Kaufman, a world-renowned pop-culture artist who had many ties to
Las Vegas, died early Friday morning in Vail, Colo., after a battle with
health problems. He was 49 years old.
Kaufman is known in Las Vegas for a recent installation of several works
of art at Caesars Palace. Richard C. Perry, the owner of Centaur Gallery
at Fashion Show Mall, said Kaufman also was commissioned for a piece at
CityCenter.
Perry's gallery holds the largest exhibition of Kaufman's art in the
United States and Kaufman was a frequent visitor to the gallery for
shows based around his art.
As an artist, Kaufman was never one to shy away from a challenge, Perry
said. Kaufman worked long hours to paint a 144-foot-long canvas with the
names of those who died in the 9/11 attacks.
The New York City native used a basement of Caesars Palace to paint the
giant work, which would later tour the country. Kaufman started the
tribute painting shortly after 9/11 and completed it in early 2002,
Perry said.
"Probably no one in the world has ever done anything like that," he
said. "It was just unbelievable."
At the time of his death Kaufman was living in Los Angeles, where he
spent much of his adult life. Kaufman lived a largely "bi-coastal"
existence, Perry said, also keeping a small residence and studio in New
York City.
According to a statement from the Vail Police Department, Kaufman had
arrived in Vail this past Thursday to take part in a show featuring his
work.
Police said a friend found Kaufman dead at about 8:20 a.m. the next
morning in his Vail Village Hotel room. His friend became worried when
Kaufman didn't attend a breakfast meeting. He went to Kaufman's hotel
room, where the artist was found unresponsive on the floor, police said.
The Eagle County (Colo.) coroner will conduct an autopsy, but police
said it appears Kaufman died of natural causes.
According to a biography on Kaufman's Web site, the artist had suffered
from health problems in recent years.
In a biography entry dated April 2003, Kaufman wrote: "I had a stroke,
my cholesterol was 576, I've been told I flat line died. That night I
had 6 jelly donuts, during my sleep I saw quick flashes of my life like
I was on VCR tape recorder rewinding my life story very fast, then it
stop, everything when black."
The next year, Kaufman suffered two minor strokes and a bout with
cancer. Five years later, in February 2009, Kaufman had a second major
stroke while in Las Vegas, he wrote in the online biography.
"I was seeing spots that day, I woke up in Las Vegas and being paralyzed
couldn't get into a wheel chair," he wrote.
Kaufman got his start in the Pop Art movement years ago, when as a
teenager he began working as an assistant to Andy Warhol.
"His early days of art really began when he was 9 or 10," Perry said.
"He practiced; he worked; he got very excited about the time in which he
lived."
Kaufman was prolific, producing between 200-300 paintings each year,
Perry said.
"If you looked at his portfolio you would say: 'My God, this guy painted
everyone and everything,'" Perry said. Kaufman painted many Las Vegas
icons, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis.
Kaufman also was known for his charitable work. In Los Angeles, he was
known for hiring men who were recently released from jail to help in his
studios.
Perry was a personal and professional friend of Kaufman's. Perry said he
admired how Kaufman maintained his down-to-earth personality in spite of
his fame.
"He'd give you his heart and his soul," Perry said. "He's probably the
most generous guy I've met in the art community."