Born one of seven children in Chicago, Pattison attended Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He began his professoinal career as a creator and teacher of art, which was interrupted in 1942, when he joined the Navy. He resumed his career after the war, and lived in Winnetka, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, for 35 years until 1993 when he moved to Maine.Pattison taught at the Art Institute of Chicago, the North Shore Art League, and the Skowhegan School of Art in Maine. His work was widely exhibited, and he received numerous awards and prices.

His work is in many private and public collections, including the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Israeli State Museum in Jerusalem, Buckingham Palace in London, England, the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, public parks, libraries, schools, colleges and churches in the Chicago area, as well as in private homes.

Ranging from classical to abstract, his work is a reflection of the complex influences in modern life.

Source:
Art Cellar Exchange, San Diego
Joyce, Barbara "Abbott Pattison," Winnetka Historical Society Gazette