Figures before Window

H. Lyman Saÿen prints bring the bright colour and daring patterns of early American modernism into your home. Saÿen was an unusual figure: an inventor who designed a pioneering X-ray tube, then a painter who knew Matisse and Picasso in Paris and helped bring modern art to Philadelphia. Our collection of fine art prints includes his landscapes, portraits of his daughter, flower pictures and bold abstract designs.

About H. Lyman Saÿen

Henry Lyman Saÿen was born in Philadelphia on 25 April 1875. After technical school he joined James W. Queen & Company, a maker of scientific instruments. At eighteen he designed a large induction coil shown at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and in 1897 he patented a self-regulating X-ray tube, an important advance. In the Spanish-American War he ran the X-ray work at an army hospital in Georgia.

In 1906 he moved to Paris with his wife Jeannette, a fashion journalist, to make art for the Wanamaker department stores. The couple met Leo Stein, joined Gertrude Stein's Saturday salons and became friends with Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. His painting soon turned toward bold colour and simplified form. Their daughter Ann was born in 1912.

The First World War sent the family back to Philadelphia in 1914. Saÿen gave up commercial work to paint, held one-man shows at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and in 1916, with Morton Schamberg, organised the city's first exhibition of modern art, showing Duchamp, Matisse, Picasso and Braque. He died at home in April 1918, aged 43, a victim of the influenza pandemic.

Style and Subjects

Saÿen's early landscapes show the strong colour and simplified forms he learned in Paris. Back in Philadelphia he pushed further, toward flat patterns of brilliant colour that he called décors, with titles such as Décor Plat and Décor Slav.

His portraits of his daughter reading, sitting in a rocker or on a sofa combine affection with bold design, and his late abstractions have the rhythm of music, as in Fugue.

Famous Works

• Anemones (1911), Smithsonian American Art Museum. A flower piece from his Paris years.
• Clouds (1911), Smithsonian American Art Museum. A landscape with bold colour and simplified forms.
• Blue Trees (1915), Smithsonian American Art Museum. Trees turned into rhythms of intense colour.
• Décor Slav (1915), Smithsonian American Art Museum. A flat, brilliantly patterned design.
• Fugue (1915), Smithsonian American Art Museum. A rhythmic abstraction with a musical title.
• Child in Rocker (1916), Smithsonian American Art Museum. His daughter Ann in a rocking chair, in bold flat colour.
• Daughter in a Rocker (1917), Smithsonian American Art Museum. A late, highly patterned portrait of his daughter.

Decorating with Saÿen Prints

Saÿen's bright, patterned paintings suit modern living rooms, home offices and creative studios. His décors and abstractions, such as Décor Plat or Fugue, look striking against white walls in slim black or natural frames.

The portraits of his daughter, such as Child Reading, are warm choices for a family room or child's bedroom, and his Paris landscapes, such as Pont des Arts, suit a hallway or study.

FAQ

Who was H. Lyman Saÿen?

H. Lyman Saÿen was an American inventor and painter who lived from 1875 to 1918. He designed a pioneering self-regulating X-ray tube and became an early American modernist painter.

Did Saÿen know Matisse?

Yes. In Paris he and his wife joined Gertrude Stein's salon and became friends with Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

What did Saÿen do for modern art in Philadelphia?

In 1916, with Morton Schamberg, he organised the first exhibition of modern art in Philadelphia, showing works by Duchamp, Matisse, Picasso, Man Ray and Braque.

What was Saÿen's X-ray invention?

In 1897 he patented a self-regulating X-ray tube that kept the gas pressure steady, solving the problem of unstable output in early tubes.

Where can I see Saÿen's paintings?

The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington holds a large collection of his work.

Related Artists

• Henri Matisse: the French master he befriended in Paris
• Morton Livingston Schamberg: Philadelphia modernist who organised the 1916 exhibition with him