Abstract Expressionism is arguably the most important art movement in postwar America. Many of its creators and critics became celebrities, participating in heated public debates that were published in newspapers, magazines, and exhibition catalogues. This up-to-date anthology is the first comprehensive collection of key critical writings about Abstract Expressionism from its inception in the 1940s to the present day. Ellen G. Landau's masterful introduction presents and analyzes the major arguments and crucial points of view that have surrounded the movement decade by decade. She then offers a selection of readings, also organized by decade, including influential statements by such artists as Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Barnett Newman as well as the commentary of diverse critics. Offering new insights into the development of Abstract Expressionism, this rich anthology also demonstrates the ongoing impact of this revolutionary and controversial movement. Reading Abstract Expressionismis essential for the library of any curator, scholar, or student of twentieth-century art.

Ellen G. Landau is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, Department of Art History and Art, Case Western University. Her previous books include Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner: A Catalogue Raisonné.

Preface

ix

Introduction Abstract Expressionism: Changing Methodologies for Interpreting Meaning

1

(124)

The 1940's: Mythologizing the Movement

ARTISTS' STATEMENTS

Arshile Gorky, Excerpt from Letter to His Sister Vartoosh, 1942

125

(1)

Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko, Excerpt from "Art in New York," 1943

125

(4)

Robert Motherwell, Excerpts from "The Modern Painter's World," 1944

129

(3)

Jackson Pollock, "A Questionnaire," 1944

132

(1)

Norman Lewis, "Thesis, 1946"

133

(2)

Jackson Pollock, Application for a Guggenheim Fellowship, 1947

135

(1)

Barnett Newman, "The Ideographic Picture," 1947

135

(2)

Barnett Newman, "The Sublime Is Now," 1948

137

(2)

Jackson Pollock, "My Painting," 1947-1948

139

(1)

Mark Rothko, "The Romantics Were Prompted," 1947-1948

140

(2)

CRITICAL REACTION

John Graham, Excerpts from System and Dialectics of Art, 1937

142

(4)

Edward Alden Jewell, Excerpt from "The Realm of Art: A New Platform; 'Globalism' Pops into View," 1943

146

(4)

Maude Riley, Excerpt from "Whither Goes Abstract and Surrealist Art?"

150

(2)

Howard Putzel, "A Problem for Critics," 1945

152

(1)

Robert Motherwell and Harold Rosenberg, "Editorial Preface," 1947-1948

153

(1)

Samuel M. Kootz and Harold Rosenberg, The Intrasubjectives, 1949

154

(5)

The 1950's: Establishing Authority

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Robert Goodnough, ed., Excerpts from Artists' Sessions at Studio 35, 1950

159

(6)

Elaine de Kooning, "David Smith Makes a Sculpture," 1951

165

(6)

Clyfford Still, "Statement," 1952

171

(1)

Thomas B. Hess, "de Kooning Paints a Picture," 1953

172

(8)

Louise Bourgeois, "Artist's Statement," 1954

180

(1)

Allan Kaprow, "The Legacy of Jackson Pollock," 1958

181

(7)

Martica Sawin, "In the Galleries: Franz Kline," 1958

188

(1)

CRITICAL REACTION

Harold Rosenberg, "The American Action Painters," 1952

189

(9)

Clement Greenberg, "'American-Type' Painting," 1955

198

(17)

Meyer Schapiro, Excerpt from "The Liberating Quality of Avant-Garde Art," 1957

215

(5)

International Reaction to Alfred H. Barr Jr., "The New American Painting"

220

(9)

Mercedes Molleda, Revista ( Barcelona) , 1958

220

(1)

L.D.H., La Libre Belgique (Brussels), 1958

221

(1)

Unsigned, Le Phare (Brussels), 1958

221

(1)

Will Grohmann, Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin), 1958

222

The 1960's: Consolidating the Canon

P.G. Pavia, "The Unwanted Title: Abstract Expressionism," 1960

229

(7)

Louise Elliott Rago, "We Interview Lee Krasner," 1960

236

(3)

Robert Rosenblum, "The Abstract Sublime," 1961

239

(6)

H.H. Arnason, Excerpt from American Abstract Expressionists and Imagists, 1961

245

(5)

Lawrence Alloway, "The Biomorphic '40's," 1965

250

(6)

Michael Fried, "Jackson Pollock," 1965

256

(7)

Sidney Simon, "Concerning the Beginnings of the New York School, 1939-1943: An Interview with Peter Busa and Matta, Conducted in Minneapolis in December 1966," 1967

263

(13)

Sidney Simon, "Concerning the Beginnings of the New York School, 1939-1943: An Interview with Robert Motherwell Conducted in New York in January 1967," 1967

276

(17)

The 1970's: Emerging Contexts and Closer Readings

Judith Wolfe, "Jungian Aspects of Jackson Pollock's Imagery," 1972

293

(20)

Lawrence Alloway, "Residual Sign Systems in Abstract Expressionism," 1973

313

(11)

Robert C. Hobbs, "Robert Motherwell's Elegies to the Spanish Republic," 1976 (revised 2004)

324

(14)

David Shapiro and Cecile Shapiro, Excerpt from "Abstract Expressionism: The Politics of Apolitical Painting," Part 3, 1977

338

(8)

Melvin P. Lader, "Graham, Gorky, de Kooning and the 'Ingres Revival' in America" 1978

346

(15)

Donald B. Kuspit, "Symbolic Pregnance in Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still," 1978

361

(22)

The 1980's: Reading New Significations

Serge Guilbaut, "The New Adventures of the Avant-Garde in America: Greenberg, Pollock, or from Trotskyism to the New Liberalism of the 'Vital Center,'" 1980

383

(16)

Evan R. Firestone, "James Joyce and the First Generation New York School," 1982

399

(16)

A. Deirdre Robson, "The Market for Abstract Expressionism: The Time Lag Between Critical and Commercial Acceptance," 1985

415

(7)

W. Jackson Rushing, "The Impact of Nietzsche and Northwest Coast Indian Art on Barnett Newman's Idea of Redemption in the Abstract Sublime," 1988

422

(20)

Ann Gibson, "The Rhetoric of Abstract Expressionism," 1989

442

(47)

The 1990's: Reldelfining Abstract Expressionism

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES

Stephen Polcari, "Martha Graham and Abstract Expressionism," 1990

489

(21)

David Craven, "Introduction," "Abstract Expressionism and Afro-American Marginalisation," and "Dissent During the McCarthy Period," 1991

510

(17)

Michael Leja, "Modern Man Discourse and the New York School," 1993

527

(8)

T.J. Clark, "In Defense of Abstract Expressionism," 1999

535

(25)

Lisa Saltzman, "Reconsidering the Stain: On Gender, Identity, and New York School Painting," 1998

560

(20)

CLOSER (RE)READINGS

David Anfam, "Of the Earth, the Damned, and of the Recreated': Aspects of Clyfford Still's Earlier Work," 1993

580

(14)

Richard Shiff, Excerpt from "Water and Lipstick: De Kooning in Transition," 1994

594

(21)

Matthew Baigell, "Barnett Newman's Stripe Paintings and Kabbalah: A Jewish Take," 1994

615

(10)

Joan M. Marter, "Arcadian Nightmares: The Evolution of David Smith and Dorothy Dehner's Work at Bolton Landing," 1995 (revised 2002)

625

(20)

Rosalind E. Krauss, "The Crisis of the Easel Picture," 1999

645

(20)

Selected Bibliography

665

(42)

Index

707

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Reading Abstract Expressionism : Context and Critique

9780300106138

0300106130

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