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evoking pulsating, glowing allusions to space. Paintings known as
Hieroglyphs, Presences and Radiances display dense fields and calligraphic structures that emerge and recede visually. Works of the 1970s and 1980s often exhibit large shapes—orbs and geometric forms— that serve as mandala-like focal points. While Pousette-Dart embraced a wide range of intense color within paintings and works on paper from the 1960s through the 1990s, he equally explored themes in black and white.
215:, whose writings offered a framework for engaging the ideas of European cubists and surrealists then being exhibited in New York City. Graham also encouraged interest in so-called “primitive” archetypal forms, and Pousette-Dart produced canvases with complex, interlocking biomorphic and geometric imagery, as well as hundreds of stylized, abstracted drawings of figures, heads, and animals.
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501:. Many photographic portraits are experimental in nature, employing double-exposure, superimposition, and other forms of darkroom manipulation, which Pousette-Dart executed himself. Nature studies are often close-up views of organic forms, such as circular flowers and light refracted through ice, that share an affinity with visual themes in his mature painting
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Beginning in the late 1950s, Pousette-Dart experimented with building form through small, individual dabs of color, creating paintings and works on paper that exhibit all-over, field-like compositions. By the 1960s, he concentrated on large-scale works composed of thick layers of such gestural marks,
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studied with
Pousette-Dart at Sarah Lawrence College, recalling, "Richard embraced his role as a teacher, but also didn't want to provide solutions for his students; he wanted them to look for their own answers. Instead of being dogmatic or indoctrinating he encouraged everyone to look for their own
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Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Pousette-Dart experimented widely with varying types of media and approaches, alternating broadly between densely filled canvases and more simplified surfaces and forms. Richly layered works known as Gothic and
Byzantine paintings, for instance, use heavy, layered
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on
December 2, 1952, he noted: "My definition of religion amounts to art and my definition of art amounts to religion. I don't believe you can have one significantly without the other. Art and religion are the inseparable structure and living adventure of the creative.... Art is not a matter of
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During the 1940s, Pousette-Dart's studio was located at 436 East 56th Street in
Manhattan, near the Queensboro Bridge. His East River Paintings, created in this studio during the late 1940s, embrace the amplification of line, often realized by direct application of paint from the tube onto
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As a child, Pousette-Dart experimented with pin-hole photography and cameras, and by the mid-1940s he became extremely active as a fine-art photographer. His photographic works were first exhibited at the Betty
Parsons Gallery in 1948, and in 1953 he was awarded third prize in
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and by his teens possessed well-formed views about abstract art, writing in a psychology paper, "The greater the work of art, the more abstract and impersonal it is; the more it embodies universal experience, and the fewer specific personality traits it reveals." He attended
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147:(né Pousette), was a painter, art director, educator, and writer about art. His parents had combined their last names to form Pousette-Dart upon marrying. Pousette-Dart began painting and drawing by the age of eight, and in 1928 was featured in a
536:(1983–1992). Among Pousette-Dart's notable students at the Art Students League were the expansionist painter/sculpturer Molly Ackerman who became in 1988 his in-studio assistant in Suffern, New York State, the Chinese activist artists
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and became deeply interested in the formal and spiritual aspects of
African, Oceanic and Native American art, especially carvings produced by Northwest Indian cultures. Many of his paintings and sculptures from the 1930s, such as
604:, a major exhibition of paintings that featured a recreation of the artist's studio. Other major posthumous exhibitions include a traveling exhibition of works on paper organized by Conrad Oberhuber at the
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Richard
Pousette-Dart exhibited with the Betty Parsons Gallery until its close in 1983, and as such, his work was introduced to a younger generation of artists showing at the gallery, including
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The work of
Pousette-Dart is often noted for its meditative and spiritual orientation, although the artist was not affiliated with any organized religious entity. In a talk given at New York's
513:, who came to New York in 1946 to study painting with Pousette-Dart, but became enthralled by the elder artist's photography, spurring him to choose a career as a photographer.
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in 1936, leaving after one semester to pursue an independent track as an artist in New York City. Pousette-Dart's first professional positions were as an assistant to sculptor
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experimental school; in 1950 he participated in a three-day closed-door conference at Studio 35; and a year later
Pousette-Dart was included in the landmark exhibition
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Pousette-Dart's first one-man exhibition of painting took place at the Artists’ Gallery in New York in the fall of 1941, a year after he completed the painting
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Pousette-Dart's fine-art photography largely concentrates on portraits and nature studies. Notable sitters include Mark Rothko, John D. Graham, Betty Parsons,
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staged Pousette-Dart's first retrospective, with additional Whitney exhibitions in 1974 and 1998. During the 1970s Pousette-Dart worked in Europe, including
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817:"Symphony No. 1, The Transcendental - Richard Pousette-Dart - 1996.367 - Work of Art - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
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435:, and others. Pousette-Dart did contribute to key discourses that shaped the emergence of the New York School: in 1948, he attended gatherings at the
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magazine's International Picture Contest. Additional exhibitions include a one-man show at Wittenborn's in New York City in 1953 and inclusion in
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Richard Pousette-Dart. Milan: Skira, 2007. Exhibition catalogue. Introduction by Philip Rylands. Essays by Kristin HĂĽbner and Lowery Stokes Sims.
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and Mabel Dodge Sterne, a wealthy patron of the arts. Armitage took it upon himself to print 16 hardcover copies of this work for his friends.
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Pousette-Dart initially concentrated on stone carving, expanding his work to include cast bronze and brass. He held in high regard the work of
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Hobbs, Robert and Joanne Kuebler, Richard Pousette-Dart. Indianapolis, Ind.: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1990. Exhibition catalogue.
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mixed-medium grounds that include sand, poured paint, and gold and silver leaf. In 1951, Pousette-Dart relocated to a farmhouse in
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Richard Pousette-Dart died on October 25, 1992, in New York City. In 1996, exhibitions of his photography were held at the
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Richard Pousette-Dart: East River Studio. New York: Luhring Augustine, 2011. Exhibition catalog. Text by Robert Storr.
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In 1950, Richard Pousette-Dart executed several drawings for a book written and published by editor and book designer
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The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation was established in 2013. The estate of Richard Pousette-Dart is represented by
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is an abstract painter who lives and works in New York City. His son Jon Pousette-Dart is a musician and founder of
119:(June 8, 1916 – October 25, 1992) was an American abstract expressionist artist most recognized as a founder of the
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399:, France, where he concentrated on watercolor. In 1990 Pousette-Dart's most complete retrospective was held at the
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works. "White Paintings," in contrast, are ethereal compositions of graphite line on variegated white grounds.
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309:, where he maintained a studio for the remainder of his life. In was in that same year that he was awarded a
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in Suffern, New York was listed on the U.S. National Park Service's National Register of Historical Places.
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magazine. This now-iconic photograph has largely come to define the core group of Abstract Expressionists.
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871:"Art: Spirit and Substance; Richard Pousette-Dart's New Paintings at Parsons Employ a Celestial Imagery,"
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and resplendent, prismatic color to invoke manuscript illuminations, mosaics and stained glass windows.
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was “I Have Been Called a Dreamer,” calling for pacifism. During World War II, Pousette-Dart became a
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in 1918. His mother, Flora Louise Pousette-Dart (née Dart), was a poet and musician; his father,
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of painting. His artistic output also includes drawing, sculpture, and fine-art photography.
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photograph showing Richard and his father sketching each other's portraits. He attended the
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Richard Pousette-Dart married poet Evelyn Gracey in New York City in 1946. Their daughter
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265:(1944). During the mid-1940s, Pousette-Dart exhibited at Howard Putzel's 67 Gallery,
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and other painters who came to shape the formative cannon of the New York School.
644:(2010) revisiting an original Betty Parsons Gallery exhibition of the same name.
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In 1965, Pousette-Dart was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from
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419:. He was fiercely independent and temperamentally disinclined to the downtown
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and secretary in the photographic retouching studio of Lynn T. Morgan.
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in New York City. In 1997–1998 he was honored with a retrospective at
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American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s An Illustrated Survey,
910:"Richard Pousette-Dart - John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation"
701:"Richard Pousette-Dart, 76, Dies; An Early Abstract Expressionist,"
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New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists,
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A Second Talent: Painters and Sculptors Who Are Also Photographers
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at The Museum of Modern Art. In January 1951, he was included in
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As early as high school, Pousette-Dart held a strong belief in
860:. Abstract Expressionism. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1990.
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In 1938, Pousette-Dart began a friendship with Russian émigré
245:, a painting of heroic scale too large to show at the Marian
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616:(2001), a jointly-produced retrospective exhibition at the
768:"Woman Bird Group by Richard Pousette-Dart / American Art"
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appears to be the only book illustrated by Pousette-Dart.
1009:"Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/23/2019,"
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Official Website of The Estate of Richard Pousette-Dart
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From 1950 to 1961 Pousette-Dart taught painting at the
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Subjects, December 23, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
717:"Richard Pousette-Dart – 'Mythic Heads and Forms,'"
403:, for which he created a 10 x 10-foot bronze door,
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934:"Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1951"
423:tavern scene that fueled the artistic personas of
655:. He exhibited in the main pavilion of the 40th
740:"Richard Pousette-Dart's abstract affinities,"
561:. His 1935 essay for the high school magazine
894:"Richard Pousette-Dart: 'East River Studio,'"
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208:), embrace these totemic and symbolic forms.
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899:, November 17, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
876:, November 18, 1967. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
803:"Richard Pousette-Dart. Desert. 1940 - MoMA"
634:Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings
509:Among Pousette-Dart's earliest students was
465:perfect technique; it is life of the soul."
706:, October 27, 1992. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
1082:. p. 16; p. 38; p. 282- 285
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792:, October 9, 1981. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
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441:Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America
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787:"Pousette-Dart's Abstract Expressionism,"
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1007:National Register of Historical Places.
602:Richard Pousette-Dart: The Studio Within
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845:"Search the Collection - Albright Knox"
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415:Pousette-Dart is widely regarded as an
1020:The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation.
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668:Richard Pousette-Dart House and Studio
16:American abstract expressionist artist
305:, New York, and eventually to nearby
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1153:People from Mount Pleasant, New York
1098:The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation
325:from 1951, in the collection of the
1044:Hobbs, Robert, and Joanne Kuebler,
407:, which remains on permanent view.
1173:20th-century American male artists
1148:Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota
484:Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art
393:The Whitney Museum of American Art
243:Symphony No. 1, The Transcendental
197:American Museum of Natural History
178:Symphony No. 1, The Transcendental
131:Richard Pousette-Dart was born in
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329:, is an example of these heavily
1158:People from Sloatsburg, New York
653:Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
1074:(New York School Press, 2000.)
1057:(New York School Press, 2003.)
346:Taos Quartet in Three Movements
206:Smithsonian American Art Museum
1168:People from Valhalla, New York
1138:Abstract expressionist artists
1128:20th-century American painters
1024:House. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
997:. pousette-dartfoundation.org.
598:Whitney Museum of American Art
594:The Metropolitan Museum of Art
518:New School for Social Research
277:, which exhibited the work of
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1163:People from Suffern, New York
632:in New York City (2007), and
630:Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
348:was originally to appear in
259:The Liver is the Cock's Comb
117:Richard Warren Pousette-Dart
42:Richard Warren Pousette-Dart
618:Peggy Guggenheim Collection
499:Alexander "Sasha" Schneider
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462:Union Theological Seminary
401:Indianapolis Museum of Art
186:Metropolitan Museum of Art
145:Nathaniel J. Pousette-Dart
553:Personal views and family
273:and, in 1948, joined the
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1123:American modern painters
520:. Positions followed at
241:. In 1942, he completed
239:The Museum of Modern Art
638:The Phillips Collection
176:Richard Pousette-Dart,
1133:American male painters
578:The Pousette-Dart Band
567:conscientious objector
526:Sarah Lawrence College
437:Subjects of the Artist
417:Abstract Expressionist
327:Honolulu Museum of Art
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105:Abstract expressionism
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1039:Richard Pousette-Dart
1032:Additional references
972:"PHOTOGRAPHERS SPEAK"
311:Guggenheim Fellowship
275:Betty Parsons Gallery
227:Richard Pousette-Dart
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193:Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
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56:Saint Paul, Minnesota
23:Richard Pousette-Dart
574:Joanna Pousette-Dart
699:Kimmelman, Michael
530:Art Students League
522:Columbia University
385:Robert Rauschenberg
271:Art of This Century
1068:Marika Herskovic,
1051:Marika Herskovic,
897:The New York Times
874:The New York Times
790:The New York Times
743:The New York Times
720:The New York Times
704:The New York Times
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563:The Beechwood Tree
493:, Barnett Newman,
411:Critical reception
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153:Scarborough School
141:Valhalla, New York
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831:"Jackson Pollock"
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414:
404:
377:Agnes Martin
370:
366:Taos Quartet
365:
349:
345:
339:
335:
322:
315:
299:
295:Ad Reinhardt
258:
250:
242:
234:
232:
226:
222:
210:
201:
190:
177:
162:Paul Manship
158:Bard College
148:
130:
116:
115:
68:(1992-10-25)
52:June 8, 1916
1118:1992 deaths
1113:1916 births
948:"Cathedral"
511:Saul Leiter
476:Photography
469:Photography
429:Franz Kline
391:. In 1963,
356:, his wife
323:Savage Rose
279:Mark Rothko
257:(1943) and
223:Savage Rose
184:, 1941–42,
81:Nationality
1107:Categories
919:2024-05-31
914:www.gf.org
674:References
303:Sloatsburg
133:Saint Paul
127:Early life
48:1916-06-08
659:in 1982.
610:Frankfurt
538:Ai Weiwei
486:in 1985.
445:Nina Leen
405:Cathedral
360:, artist
331:impastoed
137:Minnesota
91:Education
559:pacifism
524:(1967),
505:Teaching
101:Movement
85:American
936:. 1952.
614:Germany
600:staged
482:at the
397:Antibes
319:impasto
307:Suffern
1078:
1061:
995:"Home"
622:Venice
584:Legacy
549:way."
387:, and
358:Frieda
235:Desert
229:, 1951
168:Career
626:Italy
251:Mural
1076:ISBN
1059:ISBN
628:and
540:and
454:Life
447:’s “
63:Died
38:Born
640:in
636:at
620:in
608:in
269:'s
261:by
253:by
225:by
1109::
912:.
881:^
776:^
750:^
727:^
682:^
624:,
612:,
580:.
544:.
431:,
427:,
383:,
379:,
375:,
344:.
293:,
289:,
285:,
281:,
180:,
135:,
107:,
974:.
950:.
922:.
847:.
833:.
819:.
805:.
770:.
204:(
50:)
46:(
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