Nassau County Museum of Art, now through April 25, 2021
BY LORRAINE BERTAN,
CULTURE COMMITTEE
This is the “Time of the Woman”
and the Nassau County Museum
of Art is celebrating with
an eclectic collection of paintings
and sculptures by women from the
time of Mary Cassatt to 2019 works
of contemporary female artists.
The central theme of the exhibit
is Abstract Expressionism, which
appeared in the New York City art
scene during the 1940’s and 1950’s,
and is associated with large scale
paintings, or “action painting.” The
male artists most frequently associated
with Abstract Expressionism
are Willem de Kooning,
Jackson Pollack and
Mark Rothko. Willem
de Kooning and
Jackson Pollack are
the husbands of Elaine
de Kooning and Lee
Krasner. There is a photo
of Lee Krasner, Elaine
de Kooning and Helen
Frankenthaler in the
exhibit, and these three
women, along with
Grace Hartigan and
Joan Mitchell, are the
“Heroines of Abstract
Expressionism.” Helen
Frankenthaler was married to a
famous artist, Robert Motherwell.
Their work and stories are
described in the 2019 book, “Ninth
Street Women” by Mary Gabriel.
“Ninth Street Women” is based on
the artists whose work appeared
in the “Ninth Street Show” which
introduced Abstract Expressionism
paintings and sculpture to the art
world in 1951 at 60 East 9 Street,
New York City. The show was held
in the basement of an abandoned
building, and the artists restored the
space themselves. It was financed
by the art dealer Leo Castelli. The
artists were part of a group called the
“Club” and their studios were located
downtown near Ninth street. Works
from 11 women and 61 men were
chosen. Robert de Niro Sr., Robert
Rauschenberg, Robert Motherwell,
Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning
and James Ernst were among the
participants along with the “five
heroines.” The show lasted 20 days;
no works were sold, but the attention
enhanced the reputation of the
artists and New York City became
an important center of modern art.
Along with paintings from the
“heroines” and FEM contemporary
female artists, several sculptures by
Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) are
included in the exhibit. Her work is
known for outdoor sculptures and
monumental wooden pieces. She
was born in Ukraine in 1899 and
grew up in a Yiddish speaking family
who migrated to Maine. Her father
was a wood cutter, sometime lumberjack
and the persistence of wood
in the family life made a profound
impression on her. She left Maine to
attend school in New York City. She
married Charles Nevelson, a wealthy
man and it was possible for her to
study art seriously, to the point of
divorcing her husband and moving
to Europe.
Returning to New York, she
worked for the WPA, as did some
of the artists in the Ninth Street
show. She also taught an adult education
class at the Great Neck Public
Schools. During the 1950’s, the
time of the Abstract Expressionism,
her work became popular and
grew to monumental size, usually
spray painted black. She designed
the chapel of St. Peter’s Lutheran
Church in Manhattan, and became
a celebrity and fashion icon in 1974.
When she died in 1988, her estate
included artworks valued at $100
million. Nevelson: “I’m not a feminist.
I’m an artist who happens to
be a woman.”
Francoise Gilot, born 1921, was
a French Post-Impressionist painter
and a Post-World WarII artist like
the five “heroines” and was married
to a famous artist, Pablo Picasso.
Her stormy marriage to Picasso was
well documented, and her second
marriage to Jonas Salk was more
peaceful. She had become a prominent
artist in her own right and is still
painting today, living in the Upper
West Side of Manhattan. At the age
of 98 she was interviewed by the New
York Times and featured in a New
York Magazine article. Francoise
Gilot: “Art doesn’t come from what is
around you, but what is inside you.”
The FEM collection on the second
floor features the work of contemporary
artists Marilyn Minter, May
Stevens, Jessica Jackson Hutchins,
Allison Janae Hamilton, Jessica
Tan Gudnason, Tara Donovan,
Wangechi Mutu, Louis Lambrecht
and others and who use many art
forms to express themselves: ceramics,
fabrics, metals, photography, etc.
It is an exciting exhibit and touches
contemporary themes like climate
change.
The Nassau County Museum has
provided a handout describing the
exhibit. When entering the exhibit,
be sure to look for or request the
handout, which is a wonderful guide
to a unique and exciting exhibit. The
grounds of the museum contain
works of art in a lovely setting which
you may want to visit as well.
NASSAU COUNTY
MUSEUM OF ART
One Museum Drive, Roslyn
Harbor
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday
11:45 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Telephone: 516 484 9338
Website: nassaumuseum.org
EXHIBITION: HEROINES OF
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND FEM
“Indian Village Rajasthan” by Francoise Gilot, 1921
Maya Lin presents her design of the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
“Portrait of a Woman” by Mart
Cassett, 1909
December 2020 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 35
/nassaumuseum.org
