Old Masters

Arthur Dove, a pioneer of abstract painting, eschewed theories and dogmas, intent on representing the forms and forces of nature in his art. By John Dorfman The inception of abstract painting was such a watershed in the history of art, such a transformative change, that historians are inevitably drawn to the question of who did…

Olga de Amaral harnessed traditional weaving techniques to create highly experimental works of abstraction. By Sarah E. Fensom The Colombian-born artist Olga de Amaral is one of the most important voices in postwar Latin American abstraction. Known for large-scale pieces that are intricately woven in brilliant color and, frequently, covered in shimmering gold or silver…

When the Medicis ruled Florence, a current exhibition at the Met showcases, portraiture ascended to new heights. By Sarah E. Fensom The art of political propaganda was perfected thousands of years ago. The ancient Romans, in particular, excelled at communicating sensationalized messages about its leaders through artistic means. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection is…

Oskar Fischinger’s achievements as an abstract painter stem from his bold experiments as an avant-garde filmmaker. By John Dorfman The painter and filmmaker Oskar Fischinger has long been a well-kept secret of the midcentury Southern California modern-art scene—itself a rather well-kept secret of the American art world in general. The German-born artist, who was active…

There’s far more to Biedermeier-era painting than domesticity and sentiment. By John Dorfman The term “Biedermeier” is usually applied to an almost modernistic-looking furniture design style that was popular in the German-speaking lands in the first half of the 19th century. But there is also a Biedermeier style of painting, and it is hardly proto-modern….

An exhibition highlights the fruitful overlap of women artists connected to both abstraction and New York’s storied East End. By Sarah E. Fensom The first artist group to establish roots in the Hamptons was a sort of boys’ club. The Tile Club, an informal, New York City-based fraternal order of artists, writers, and musicians, was…

Flora Crockett is emerging from obscurity to gain recognition as an original, important, and delightful abstract painter. By John Dorfman As recently as 2017, Flora Crockett was being called a “forgotten painter.” The phrase appeared in Roberta Smith’s New York Times review of an exhibition of the artist’s work at Meredith Ward Fine Art in…

They never met in life, but Willem de Kooning and Chaïm Soutine have an artistic kinship that transcends time and place. By John Dorfman In 1977, when asked to discuss his influences, Willem de Kooning pointed to one above all—Chaïm Soutine, the Russian-born Parisian painter who died in miserable circumstances in 1943. In some ways,…

Artworks once owned by the wealthy Morozov brothers of Moscow, pioneering collectors of modernism in the early 20th century, are being seen outside Russia for the first time. By Sarah E. Fensom The famed Moscovite brothers Mikhaïl and Ivan Abramovich Morozov brought an astounding amount of masterpieces from Western Europe to Russia, creating collections of…