Throughout his six-decade painting career, Theodore Hios was best known for his landscapes and figurative portraits. At times bordering on the abstract, Hios' landscapes recall those of Marsden Hartley, with their expressive marks and firm grip on figuration. The mountains and canyons that appear in these works were greatly inspired by Hios' home of Tripi, Greece and the Mediterranean terrain. His figurative works often depict the everyday lives of the working class, reflecting the artist's experience as a young artist struggling in New York City during the Great Depression, as well as his tenure as a military artist and photographer.
Theodore Hios was born in the small Greek village of Tripi in 1908 and moved to New York with his father and brother in 1929. During World War II, Hios enlisted in the Marine Corps and was made a combat photographer, for which he received the Bronze Star. After the war he studied at the Art Students League with Morris Kantor and Vaclav Vytlacil. From 1963 until his retirement in 1994, Hios taught at the New School for Social Research.
In addition to his many exhibitions, Hios' works are represented in several permanent collections, including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York; the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; and Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York. His work also appeared on PBS in the documentary They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II. The artist passed away in 1999 at the age of 90.
