Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art By Mary Gabriel
This is a fabulous read a long awaited account of some of the major female characters of the Ab Ex movement, replacing them in their rightful role at the heart of the movement. Mary Gabriel has produced a work that is remarkably well documented and insightful, but also hugely fun to read; a prefect blend of historical context, artistic understanding and personal anecdotesIt's a doorstopper of a book, but I would have happily read the same length again. Also contains welcome photographic documentation. 0316226173 I am a painter who grew up wanting to paint like Frankenthaler, Krasner, Mitchell, and E. deKooning. So after many years, I was very happy to see someone who would take on the challenge write about these incredible artists lives.I respect the huge amount of research that went on to creating such a work and I appreciate how hard it must’ve been to collate all the threads of anecdotes and stories of the 9th Street Women.However, although I appreciated the detail of these these artists lives Ifelt that a lot of the information used was irrelevant and the writing often orbited too much on the male artists and their influence on the art world. As I read I kept feeling that the author was missing something as I was hoping that the book would be about the artist’s studio practice and they organised and supported each other in a concise way. I remember that I kept wondering what was the impact these painters had on the likes of O’Keefe and Carrington et al. Consequently I feltthat the book could have been shorter and I was surprised to discover that, although not being a 9th Street Artist, Agnes Martin was omitted from this narrative as, dare I say, very much part of the Abstract Expressionist scene, at the time. Sadly it read like someone’s PHD thesis. So the reason I have it a 3 star only was because I think it needed a good editor and a clear vision of what needed to be said about these incredible artists. There was so much that was glossed over by inconsequential information and sometimes the narrative was bogged down and confusing as we jumped from one artist to another. Sadly, I after reading the last page I felt that the book didn’t truly explore the artist’s output only how they supported the men in their lives. 0316226173 Great history, herstory! 0316226173 A much needed documentation of the 1st and 2nd generation women pioneers of Abstract Expression. Beautifully placed in its historical context, a seamless chronological insight. Very happy to see their male counterparts have been included to accurately portray the sometimes tacit dialogue essential to a vital historical movement. Some gems of private correspondence and thoughts. I’ve never taken so many notes! Sorry to have finished it. 10/10! 0316226173 Lovely book. Arrived in good condition. 0316226173
Ninth Street Women is a must readGabriel seamlessly weaves the intimate and the public, the lives and the art, making us feel we were thereIt is a story that is a part of the American story, told here in vivid, meaningful detail, an absolutely pivotal text. Margaret Randall, Women's Review of BooksNinth Street Women is like a great, sprawling Russian novel, filled with memorable characters and sharply etched scenes. It's no mean feat to breathe life into five very different and very brave women, none of whom gave a whit about conventional s. But Ms. Gabriel fleshes out her portraits with intimate details, astute analyses of the art and good old fashioned storytelling. Ann Landi, Wall Street JournalA colorful narrative as compelling as a novel. Gabriel brilliantly shows how the women of Abstract Expressionism carved out paths for themselves in an often hostile community, fashioning careers and producing exciting work fully as important as that of their male peers men whom they befriended, married, bedded, or disdained. Mary V. Dearborn, author of Ernest Hemingway: A BiographyA fascinating, meticulously researched account of five painters who broke through the gender barriers in the art world of the 1950s. Gabriel is deft at teasing out the behind the scenes drama in these women's lives and careers. Essential reading for any student of the period, and of the New York School generally. David Salle, author of How to See: Looking, Talking, and Thinking About ArtA gorgeous and unsettling narrativeNinth Street Women is supremely gratifying, generous, and lush but also tough and precise in other words, as complicated and capacious as the lives it depictsIt's as if once Gabriel got started, the canvas before her opened up new vistas. We should be grateful she yielded to its possibilities. Jennifer Szalai, New York TimesA sweeping panorama of American art history in the decades around World War II specifically Abstract Expressionism and the rise of U.S. art world dominance internationally. A major contribution to the literature of twentieth century cultural and social history. Julia Van Haaften, author of Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography Biographer Gabriel corrects long standing misperceptions about New York's abstract expressionism movement by telling the dramatic, often traumatic stories of the five gifted and courageous women painters at the center of that radical floweringavidly researched, deeply analyzed, gorgeously written, and endlessly involving five track mix of biography and history Gabriel not only provides vibrantly detailed accounts of these five exceptional avant garde artists' friendships and rivalries, affairs and marriages, doubt and despair, conviction and resilience; she also establishes a richly dimensional context for their struggles and innovationsGabriel has created an incandescent, engrossing, and paradigm altering art epic. Booklist (starred review)Gabriel delivers an immersive group biography of eclectic, free spirited painters who shocked the art world in the 1940s and '50s with abstract expressionismThrough the lens of these women's lives, Gabriel delivers a sweeping history of abstract expressionism and the postwar New York School, and an affectionate tribute to the underappreciated women of America's avant garde. Publishers Weekly (starred review)Gabriel has created an ambitious, comprehensive, and impressively detailed history of abstract expressionism focused on the lives and works of Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen FrankenthalerA sympathetic, authoritative collective biography. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Gabriel's fascinating group portrait shimmers with vivid personal detailShe traces their interwoven paths from studio to Cedar Bar to the Eight Street loft known as the ClubOver time, Willem de Kooning outshone Elaine; Jackson Pollock eclipsed Krasner. Key contributions were erasedGabriel makes sure these major artists who have been written out of history are not forgotten. Jane Ciabattari, BBC.comGripping and enthralling, Mary Gabriel made me share every turbulent moment of these remarkable women's lives. A magisterial reference, this book will be the definitive text for years to come. It is also the most devastatingly accurate portrayal of five women who had the temerity to call themselves artists in the male dominated twentieth century. Deirdre Bair, author of Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and LegendI loved every page of this necessary book. At last we see such once sidelined artists as Joan Mitchell and Elaine de Kooning in depth, and both the telling gossip of their lives and the brave authenticity of their work are thrilling. Mary Gabriel restores the humanist ambition at the core of all the New York painters of this era, whether male or female the boldness of their risky lives and the seriousness of their noble enterprise. Brad Gooch, author of Rumi's Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of LoveMasterful. Mixing critical insight with juicy storytelling, Mary Gabriel brings five brilliant female painters to the fore of the art revolution that cut a wide swath in postwar America. Patricia Albers, author of Joan Mitchell: Lady PainterMore than a compilation of biographical tales, Gabriel's book is a reminder of the importance of women to an artistic genre long associated with masculinity. But it is also is a vivid portrait of the very nature of the artist. The stars of the era suffered and sinned as mortals, but their works and their creative appetites were otherworldly. Ninth Street Women gets us a just a little bit closer to their galaxy. Karen Sandstrom, Washington PostSheer delight. A richly detailed epic starring not only five heroic female painters, but a supporting cast that defines the entire existential and Beat era, from Frank O'Hara to Billie Holiday to Samuel Beckett. Gabriel's vision of Lee Krasner jazz dancing with Piet Mondrian alone is worth the price of the book. With palpable empathy for the flawed brilliance of her five stars, their jealous foes, and their long suffering enablers, Gabriel conjures the high risk paths they chose, what making great art cost their lives, and what they lost and won in the end. Michael Findlay, director of Acquavella Galleries and author of Seeing Slowly: Looking at Modern ArtThese individuals are brought to life by Pulitzer Prize finalist Gabriel, who shows how each defied social convention and professional boundaries to create new creative forms and attain equality with their male counterparts A must for modern art historians and enthusiasts. Library Journal (starred review)
Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art