Contrary to entrenched presumptions that Manhattan became the primary locus of art after World War II, Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 delves into the various circles of artists who made France their home during an era of intense geopolitical realignment. Bolstered by the GI Bill, many artists, such as Norman Bluhm, Ed Clark, Sam Francis, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, and Jack Youngerman, along with lesser-known figures such as Robert Breer, Harold Cousins, and Shinkichi Tajiri, opted for a foreign rather than a domestic learning experience. Seasoned artists, such as Beauford Delaney, Claire Falkenstein, Carmen Herrera, Joan Mitchell, Kimber Smith, and Mark Tobey, like the GIs, were drawn to the storied modernist traditions that still flowed from this fabled City of Light. Comprising some 135 artworks by approximately 70 artists, Americans in Paris investigates the academies where many of these artists studied, the spaces where their work was exhibited, the aesthetic discourses that animated their conversations, their interactions with European artists, and the overarching issue of what it meant to be an American abroad. Curated by Debra Bricker Balken with Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition is accompanied by a 300-page illustrated publication.
credits
Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 is organized by the Grey Art Museum, New York University. Curated by Debra Bricker Balken with Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition is made possible in part by generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, sponsor of the international tour; the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation; Hauser & Wirth; Robert E. Holmes and David Hubensky; the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation; The Falkenstein Foundation; the O’Brien Art Foundation; the Sam Francis Foundation; Francis H. Williams and Keris Salmon; the Al Held Foundation; David Hall Gallery, LLC, Wellesley, MA; the Grey’s Director’s Circle, Inter/National Council, and Friends; and the Abby Weed Grey Trust. In-kind support is provided by ArtCare Conservation, Ryan Lee Gallery, and Les Films du Jeudi.
Support for the publication has been provided by the Boris Lurie Art Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; and the Schaina & Josephina Lurje Memorial Foundation.
Funding for travel and research was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art; Global Research Initiatives, Office of the Provost, New York University; and the Rhode Island School of Design Professional Development Fund.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Generous support for the Addison’s presentation of this exhibition has been provided by the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, the Sidney R. Knafel Fund, the Mark Rudkin Fund, the Sam Francis Foundation, and James H. ’61 & Liliane Rubin P’91, ’95.
Related Events
Related Exhibition Materials
Press Release
A Major International Exhibition Reappraises the Legacy of American Artists in Postwar Paris
Exhibition Catalogue
A full-color catalogue published co-published by Hirmer and the Grey Art Museum, New York University accompanies this exhibition and features an introduction by curator Lynn Gumpert and essays by curator Debra Balken, Rashida K. Braggs, Elisa Capdevila, and J. English Cook.
Video
Artist Peter Saul, whose work is included in Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962, and lead exhibition curator Debra Bricker Balken present an engaging, informal conversation about Saul’s fruitful time in Paris from 1958 to 1962, his interactions with other expats such as William Copley, his responses to French culture, and how these combined experiences have animated his celebrated and groundbreaking career over the past six decades. (Recorded on October 17, 2024)
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