This first-ever biography of American painter Grace Hartigan traces her rise from virtually self-taught painter to art-world fame; her plunge into obscurity after leaving New York to marry a scientist in Baltimore; and her constant efforts to reinvent her style and subject matter. Along the way; there were multiple affairs; four troubled marriages; a long battle with alcoholism; and a chilly relationship with her only child.Attempting to channel her vague ambitions after an early marriage; Grace struggled to master the basics of drawing in night-school classes. She moved to New York in her early twenties and befriended Willem de Kooning; Jackson Pollock; and other artists who were pioneering Abstract Expressionism. Although praised for the coloristic brio of her abstract paintings; she began working figuratively; a move that was much criticized but ultimately vindicated when the Museum of Modern Art purchased her painting The Persian Jacket in 1953. By the mid-fifties; she freely combined abstract and representational elements. Grace-who signed her paintings "Hartigan"- was a full-fledged member of the "mens club" that was the 1950s art scene. Featured in Time; Newsweek; Life; and Look; she was the only woman in MoMAs groundbreaking 12 Americans exhibition in 1956; and the youngest artist-and again; only woman-in The New American Painting; which toured Europe in 1958-1959. Two years later she moved to Baltimore; where she became legendary for her signature tough-love counsel to her art school students. Grace continued to paint throughout her life; seeking-for better or worse-something truer and fiercer than beauty.
2013-03-14 2013-03-14File Name: B00RKTLSF0
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A look inside the process of making itBy Jair Calderoacute;nEach chapter lets you see through the eyes of the participants how the opera hose was built; and gives you great interesting details on the parts that compound this beautiful building.
