The History of the Easel
Customized Easels
Similar to the medievalist's way of customizing their easels, modern artists have made inventive specifications in their personal art easels, which arguably have again changed the face of art. For example, Frida Kahlo, now a world-famous painter, was bed-ridden for months on end as a teenager following a brutal bus accident. To fill her time and ease her pain, she utilized a customized wooden easel propped over her lap like a bed tray or table top easel as she lay on her back.
28 One can only imagine how the Mexican and international art world would be different if Frida hadn't begun to paint during those formative years. The Dutch artist Willem de Kooning (1905-1997) is also said to have developed for himself a "specially designed electrically propelled easel"
29 for his action paintings, which enabled him even more freedom and movement within the form of easel painting.
