New York School - New York Art Scene in The Late 1950s

New York Art Scene in The Late 1950s

Marilyn Stokstad, the British art historian, wrote: ’’When the United States emerged from World War II as the most powerful nation in the world, its new stature was soon reflected in the arts. American artists and architects-especially those living in New York City-assumed the leadership in artistic innovation that by the late 1950s had been acknowledged across the Atlantic Ocean, even in Paris. Critics, curators and art historians, trying to follow art’s ‘mainstream,’ now focused on New York as the new center of modernism.’’

The post-World War II era highly benefited some of the artists who were early on recognized by the Art critics of the post World War II era. According to Irving Sandler, ‘’From 1947 to 1951, more than a dozen Abstract Expressionists achieved ‘breakthroughs’ to independent styles. Younger artists who entered their circle in the early fifties-the early wave of the second generation were also acclaimed, but with a few exceptions, their reputation had gone into decline by the end of the fifties.’’ (Sandler verified the arbitrary notion of “generation:” It refers to a group of artists close in age who live in the same neighborhood at the same time, and to a greater or lesser degree, know each other and partake of a similar sensibility, a shared outlook and aesthetic.)

Some of the New York artists having no galleries or means to get ahead took advantage of the GI Bill and left for Europe to later return with acclaim. Among them were Norman Bluhm and Sam Francis. The majority of artists from all across the US arrived in New York City to seek recognition. By the end of the decade the list of artists associated with the New York School had greatly increased. (see: Complete List of Artists' Participation in the New York Painting and Sculpture Annuals, 1951–1957)

A list of artists associated with the New York art scene of the 1950s and not included in the New York Annuals would include the following:

  • Norman Bluhm (1921–1999)
  • Art Brenner (born 1924)
  • Judith Brown (1931–1992)
  • Mary Callery (1903–1977)
  • John Chamberlain (born 1927)
  • Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993)
  • Jim Dine (born 1935)
  • Mark di Suvero (born 1933)
  • Sam Francis (1923–1994)
  • Arshile Gorky (1904–1948)
  • Red Grooms (born 1937)
  • Raoul Hague (1905–1993)
  • Al Held (1928–2005)
  • Paul Jenkins (born 1923)
  • Jasper Johns (born 1930)
  • Allan Kaprow (1927–2006)
  • Ellsworth Kelly (born 1923)
  • Morris Louis (1912–1962)
  • Edward Meneeley (born 1927)
  • Barnett Newman (1905–1970)
  • Kenneth Noland (born 1924)
  • Claes Oldenburg (born 1929)
  • Mark Rothko (1903–1970)
  • George Segal (1924–2000)
  • Leon Polk Smith (1906–1996)
  • Clyfford Still (1904–1980)
  • Mark Tobey (1890–1976)
  • John von Wicht (1888–1970)
  • Robert Whitman (born 1935)

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