The jewel-like qualities of Drossos P. Skyllas’s oil paintings come from the meticulous small brushstrokes that he slowly layered over the canvas. Sometimes using homemade brushes to get the exact fineness he desired, he painted landscapes, still lifes, nudes, religious icons, and portraits with a technique reminiscent of mosaic making. His intense study of art history inspired these academic genres, yet his works often have a touch of kitsch in their resemblance to twentieth-century illustration. Nudes are posed like pinups in formal landscapes and interiors, and floral still lifes are joined by jewelry and other objects with the directness of advertisements. Everything has an uncanny realism, giving a dreamlike quality to scenes of snow-laden trees and luminous sunrises. As he once stated, his intent was to make “only pure, realistic paintings” so that his works look “like photographs.”
Skyllas was born in 1912 on Kalymnos, a Greek island in the southeastern Aegean Sea. He had an early passion for art, but his family encouraged him instead to become an accountant. He worked for his father’s tobacco company; after World War II, he and his wife, Iola, immigrated to the United States. They settled in Chicago, and with her support he committed himself to becoming a full-time painter. His self-portrait shows him nattily dressed and gazing with confidence at the viewer. Although he is not known to have taken art classes, he frequently visited the Art Institute of Chicago to find inspiration for his classical approach to his compositions. He submitted his work to the annual Chicago and Vicinity juried exhibition at the Art Institute and was included in 1955, 1967, 1969, and 1973. He set high prices for his works, which he believed aligned with his status as a professional artist. He advertised himself as a portraitist, but never sold any paintings or received any commissions in his lifetime.
By the time of his death in 1973, he had created thirty-eight paintings. Left unfinished was a planned panoramic painting of the Last Supper that he had been exploring in sketches on large paper scrolls. Through William Bengston of Phyllis Kind Gallery, who had noticed his work at the Chicago and Vicinity shows, his work received posthumous attention, leading to exhibitions including a 1995 solo show at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in Chicago.
Allison C. Meier, 2025
Text written as part of “Rethinking Biography,” an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
