From 1953 to 1957 Twombly’s work is shown at the Stable Gallery; he then moves to the Leo Castelli Gallery and later exhibits with the Gagosian Gallery.
1955–1956
Teaches at a junior college in Buena Vista
In 1955–1956 Twombly teaches at the Southern Seminary and Junior College in Buena Vista, Virginia (now Southern Virginia University); in the summer vacations he travels to New York to paint in his apartment on Williams Street.
1955–1959
New York: a shared studio with Rauschenberg and Johns’s circle
From 1955 to 1959 Twombly works in New York, shares a studio with Rauschenberg and becomes a prominent figure in a group of artists that includes Jasper Johns. Exposure to the emerging New York School purges the figurative aspects from his work, and a fascination with tribal art leads him to gestural drawing — thin white lines on a dark canvas that seem scratched into the surface.
1957
Moves to Rome and meets Tatiana Franchetti
Twombly makes Rome his primary city and there meets the Italian artist Tatiana Franchetti, sister of his patron Baron Giorgio Franchetti. In Italy he turns to large formats and a more literal use of text and numbers, drawing inspiration from poetry, mythology and history.
1959
Marries Tatiana Franchetti
Twombly and Tatiana Franchetti marry at New York City Hall and then buy a palazzo on the Via di Monserrato in Rome.
![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8f29e3c9-a289-4d53-abf0-31a66e9e98fa/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/ff62e8d0-45c4-498f-ad36-6358de827e04/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
