Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973) was a charismatic aesthete in his younger days as he soaked in the Parisian scene of the early 20th century. His seriousness, however, grew throughout his career as he became a restless promoter of modern art among his American peers. His development as an artist was focused on a movement of his own making, Synchromism. Color was Synchromism’s calling card, and like creating a recipe with only one ingredient, Macdonald-Wright would use it to create works that made sound visual, but also referenced more traditional art forms.

Macdonald-Wright was one of two sons born to Archibald Davenport Wright and Annie van Vranken in 1890 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Macdonald-Wright’s father owned and managed a restaurant, and the bustling environment must have been ideal for an imaginative child. In 1899 the family moved to California, where Archibald became the manager of the Hotel Arcadia in Santa Monica. Macdonald-Wright’s parents were indulgent with their sons, providing little discipline and employing servants to do the household chores. They did, however, keep the boys supplied with tutors and lessons in languages, art, and literature. In 1906 Macdonald-Wright studied at the Art Students League of Los Angeles, but had little direction. He was wiling away his youth, moving from job to job and spending time at the local brothel. In 1908 he married Ida Wyman, a hotel guest he had known for two weeks. They left for Europe a year later, where Macdonald-Wright began to focus on becoming a serious artist.