Where to See Adolph Gottlieb

Adolph Gottlieb's works are held by many major public art museums. These include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American^[4] Art, both in New York. Gottlieb had a retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim in 1968^[4]. Other New York venues include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. Outside New York, his art can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.). International locations include the Musée National d'Art Moderne (Paris), the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the Australian National Gallery (Canberra), and the Tate Gallery (London). Gottlieb was born in New York in 1903^[4]. During the 1920s, he studied at the Art Students League, Parsons School of Design, and Cooper Union. His first solo show was at the Dudensing Gallery in 1930. He died in New York in March 1974^[4].

Adolph Gottlieb (1903^[4]-1974^[4]) was an American^[4] abstract expressionist painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He studied at the Art Students League in 1920^[4], and later in Paris. Gottlieb was associated with the New York School and exhibited widely from the 1940s until his death. His first solo show occurred at the Dudensing Gallery in New York in 1930. From 1935 to 1940, he exhibited with The Ten, a group of artists devoted to expressionist and abstract painting. Gottlieb's work progressed through several distinct phases. By 1941, he had painted his first pictographs; compositions divided into irregular grids, each compartment filled with archetypal, mythic and symbolic images. In 1951, he began imaginary skylines, dividing the field into two horizontal zones; sky, with shapes floating above the horizon, and a sea below. These elements were simplified in the Burst paintings of 1957 to the early 1970s. Here, a disc hovers above an explosive, calligraphic mass. Examples include *W* (1954) and *Mist* (1961).

Adolph Gottlieb (1903^[4]-1974^[4]) was a significant figure in the development of Abstract Expressionism^[4]. He is known for his symbolic paintings and his contributions to the New York art scene. Gottlieb's work offers insight into the artistic concerns of the mid-20th century. His early paintings from the 1940s, often referred to as "Pictographs", incorporated imagery drawn from mythology, psychoanalysis, and primitive art. These works attempted to express universal human experiences through abstract forms and personal symbolism. Gottlieb aimed to tap into the collective unconscious, a concept popularised by Carl Jung. Later, in the 1950s, Gottlieb developed his "Burst" series. These paintings typically feature a dark, amorphous shape above a bright, explosive form. The "Bursts" are less concerned with specific symbols and more focused on the interplay of colour and form. They represent a move towards pure abstraction, while still hinting at underlying emotional content. Gottlieb's exploration of abstract forms, coupled with his interest in universal themes, has made his work relevant to subsequent generations of artists. His paintings continue to be studied for their formal qualities and their insight into the development of abstract art in America.

Adolph Gottlieb explored various techniques and materials throughout his career. Early on, he worked with oil paint on canvas, often in a representational style. During the 1940s, he developed his "Pictograph" series, characterised by compartmentalised images and symbols. These works employed bold colours and strong lines, achieved with oil paint and sometimes mixed media. Later, Gottlieb transitioned to his "Burst" paintings. These are perhaps his best-known works, and they typically feature a textured, often dark, circular form above a more chaotic, energetic field of colour. He achieved these effects by using oil paint thinned with turpentine or other solvents, applied with brushes and palette knives. Gottlieb also experimented with different supports, including canvas and paper. He sometimes incorporated sand or other granular materials into the paint to create texture. In his later years, he also created sculptures in bronze and aluminium.

Adolph Gottlieb, born in New York in 1903^[4], is associated with the New York School. He studied at the Art Students League in 1920^[4], and travelled in Europe from 1921 to 1923. He exhibited with The Ten, a group of artists devoted to expressionist and abstract painting, from 1935 to 1940. Gottlieb's art evolved from the grid-based 'pictographs', begun by 1941, to imaginary fields divided into zones. His 'Burst' paintings, from 1957 to the early 1970s, characteristically show a disc hovering over an explosive mass. Gottlieb and Mark Rothko had a close friendship, beginning in the late 1920s. They shared interests and attitudes, such as a love of primitive art and an intense concern with myth. By 1941, Gottlieb and Rothko were working to define an art based upon myth. For over a decade, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s, each artist's painting changed from realistic representation to a new language of archetypes. Rothko was more concerned with inner states; Gottlieb remained interested in the external world.

Adolph Gottlieb studied at the Art Students League in 1920^[4] with John Sloan and Robert Henri. Between 1921 and 1923, he studied in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, also travelling to Berlin and Munich. Back in New York in 1923, he finished high school while also studying at Parsons School of Design, Cooper Union, and the Educational Alliance Art School. During this time, he developed a friendship with Barnett Newman. Gottlieb's close friendship with Mark Rothko began in the early 1930s. Both were interested in primitive art and myth. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s, they shared aesthetic goals, moving from realistic representation to a language of archetypes. By 1941, Gottlieb and Rothko were working together to create art based upon classical mythology. In the 1940s, Gottlieb's pictographs, with their grid-like structure, show the influence of Uruguayan artist, Torres-Garcia, whose works used a similar grid format. Gottlieb also cited Italian primitive predella panels as an important precedent.

It is difficult to name Adolph Gottlieb's single most famous work. However, his "Burst" paintings from 1957^[4] to the early 1970s are among his best-known. These paintings typically feature a disc hovering above an explosive, calligraphic mass on large colour fields. Gottlieb is also known for his earlier "pictographs". By 1941, he had begun painting these compositions, divided into irregular grids, with each section filled with archetypal, mythic, and symbolic images. In 1951, he began painting imaginary seascapes, which divided the field into two horizontal zones: sky above and sea below. Examples of Gottlieb's work held by the Guggenheim Museum include *W* (1954) and *Mist* (1961). *W* demonstrates a move away from the grid-like structure of his pictographs toward the isolation of forms that would come to dominate his later work.

Adolph Gottlieb is associated with the New York School and Abstract Expressionism^[4]. Born in New York in 1903^[4], Gottlieb studied at the Art Students League. During the early 1930s, he became close friends with Milton Avery and Mark Rothko. From 1935^[4] to 1940, he exhibited with The Ten, a group of artists focused on expressionist and abstract painting. By 1941, Gottlieb had begun painting his pictographs; these compositions were divided into irregular grids, with each section filled with archetypal and symbolic images. Like many New York artists, Gottlieb subscribed to the Surrealist belief in dream imagery and the power of the subconscious. In 1951, he began imaginary views, dividing the field into two horizontal zones. Later, Gottlieb simplified these elements in his Burst paintings, from 1957 into the early 1970s. Gottlieb died in New York in 1974^[4].