John Altoon

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Personal

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Family

American artist of Armenian descent, a painter who was a prominent figure in the Los Angeles art scene in the 1950s and 1960s. Exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Corcoran Gallery, Washington D.C, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Baxter Museum, Pasadena, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Altoon was diagnosed as schizophrenic in his late 30s and suffered bouts of depression and paranoia. In the early 1960s he became a patient of Dr. Milton Wexler a prominent psychoanalyst who restored his ability to work and from then until his death became the most productive and stable years in his life. John Altoon was married to the actress Fay Spain from 1959 to 1962. He was married to Roberta ("Babs") Lunine from 1966 until his death. He died in Los Angeles from a heart attack on 8 February 1969 at age 43. Link to Wikipedia biography