richard diebenkorn studied matisse almost obsessively. >> he was someone who was a real student. artists that in influenced him throughout his life but no one more than matisse. >> one reason that diebenkorn is less well-known than other important artists of the mid 20th century is that he lived and worked in america's west, far from new york then the epicenter of modern art in america. born in 1922 in portland, oregon, raised in the san francisco bay area, diebenkorn began drawing as a toddler, eventually going on to study art at stanford. >> he was working in the abstract expressionist mode. he loved abstraction. that was certainly the style of the time. >> he first saw a matisse in 1943 and was hooked. over the years, traveling as far as paris and st. petersburg to view the older artist's work. but diebenkorn never sought to imitate matisse. >> i think he felt very much that it was important to look to the past. why would you not look at something that someone else had done. didn't mean that you were copying them just meant that they were inspiring you. >> both men produced ab