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The Masters: Art Students League Teachers and their Students

October 18 – December 1, 2018

Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), Loading Hay, n.d.

Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)

Loading Hay, n.d.

Watercolor and ink on paper, 14 1/2 x 22 in.

© Benton Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

David Smith (1906-1965), Untitled, 1964

David Smith (1906-1965)

Untitled, 1964

Black enamel on canvas, 31 7/8 x 50 in.

© 2018 Estate of David Smith/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), Traveling Piece, 1966

Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)

Traveling Piece, 1966

Solvent transfer, photo silkscreen, paper collage, tape, gouache and Polaroid on board, Triptych, each 8 1/4 x 10 5/8 in.

© 2018 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953), Virginia City, Nevada, 1941

Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953)

Virginia City, Nevada, 1941

Gouache on gessoed panel, 12 x 18 in.

© 2018 Estate of Yasuo Kuniyoshi/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974), Asterisk on Brown, 1967

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974)

Asterisk on Brown, 1967

Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.

© The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Robert Smithson (1938-1973), Broken Circle / Spiral Hill, 1971

Robert Smithson (1938-1973)

Broken Circle / Spiral Hill, 1971

Felt-tip marker, graphite and ink on paper, 12 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.

© Holt/Smithson Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Burgoyne Diller (1906-1965), Third Theme, 1938-39

Burgoyne Diller (1906-1965)

Third Theme, 1938-39

Tempera and paper collage on paper board, 15 x 15 in.

© 2018 Estate of Burgoyne Diller/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

José De Creeft (1884-1982), Ecstasy, 1956

José De Creeft (1884-1982)

Ecstasy, 1956

Alabaster, 15 x 15 x 10 in.

© 2018 Estate of José de Creeft/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Paul Cadmus (1904-1999), Shells and Figure, 1940

Paul Cadmus (1904-1999)

Shells and Figure, 1940

Tempera on panel, 7 1/2 x 9 in.

© 2018 Jon F. Anderson, Estate of Paul Cadmus/VAGA at Arists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Romare Bearden (1911-1988), Family (Mother and Child), 1973

Romare Bearden (1911-1988)

Family (Mother and Child), 1973

Collage on board, 18 x 14 in.

© Romare Bearden Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Will Barnet (1911-2012), Woman Reading, 1970

Will Barnet (1911-2012)

Woman Reading, 1970

Gouache and pencil on board, 36 x 27 in.

© Will Barnet Trust/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), White Shape, 1940

Hans Hofmann (1880-1966)

White Shape, 1940

Oil on board, 20 x 24 in.

William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), Young Girl on a Ocean Steamer, 1883

William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)

Young Girl on a Ocean Steamer, 1883

Pastel on paper, 29 x 24 in.

Philip Guston (1913-1980), Departure II, 1963

Philip Guston (1913-1980)

Departure II, 1963

Gouache on paper, 30 x 38 in.

© The Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942), Titanic Memorial, about 1915

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942)

Titanic Memorial, about 1915

Bronze with marble base, 33 1/2 x 29 1/8 x 14 in.

Robert Henri (1865-1929), Modiste (Spanish Girl, Madrid), 1906

Robert Henri (1865-1929)

Modiste (Spanish Girl, Madrid), 1906

Oil on canvas, 78 x 38 in.

George Bellows (1882-1925), Portrait of Elizabeth Alexander, 1924

George Bellows (1882-1925)

Portrait of Elizabeth Alexander, 1924

Oil on canvas, 53 x 43 in.

George Tooker (1920-2011), Stations of the Cross, 1984

George Tooker (1920-2011)

Stations of the Cross, 1984

Egg tempera on board, 14 panels, each 14 x 14 in.

John Koch (1909-1978), Three Musicians, 1958

John Koch (1909-1978)

Three Musicians, 1958

Oil on canvas, 30 x 48 in.

Press Release

A “subway series” painting by Mark Rothko; the fourteen Stations of the Cross by George Tooker; the bronze sculpture, Titanic Memorial, by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; and Modiste, a full-length portrait of a young Spanish woman by Robert Henri are among the never- or rarely-publicly-viewed masterpieces that are included in The Masters: Art Students League Teachers and Their Students, which will open on October 18th at Hirschl & Adler in New York City.  

 The exhibition is a ground-breaking collaboration between an historic art gallery, Hirschl & Adler, a curatorial-based salon-style project space, 511 Projects, and the Art Students League, one of the oldest and most important art schools in America.

 The Masters will be more than ninety artworks by sixty major artists, from 1900 to the present, who studied, taught, or studied and taught at the Art Students League. On view and available for sale will be works by the school’s founders and first teachers, such as William Merritt Chase, Frank Vincent DuMond, Kenneth Hayes Miller, John Sloan and Robert Henri; then early students including Georgia O’Keeffe, George Bellows, Norman Rockwell and Guy Pène du Bois; and then their “offspring,” including Reginald Marsh, Isabel Bishop and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Subsequent generations of artists whose works will be included in the show with most for sale are Thomas Hart Benton, Fairfield Porter, David Smith, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Milton Avery, Lee Krasner, Stuart Davis, Dorothy Dehner, Paul Jenkins, Elizabeth Catlett, Will Barnet, Helen Frankenthaler, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg, Pat Lipsky, Knox Martin, Marisol, and Norman Lewis, among many others.

 The Art Students League was founded as an atelier, or studio-based, school that diverged from traditional American art academies.  It immediately attracted both men and women and offered women access to study from the nude, first in gender-segregated classes and later alongside men. From the 1920s through the present, the school has served as a haven for immigrant artists–students and teachers–from countries in turmoil, oppressive regimes, and impoverished conditions. George Grosz, Mark Rothko, Vaclav Vytlacil, Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, John Graham, Lee Bontecou, Arshile Gorky, Louisa Matthiasdottir, and Zhang Hongtu are a few of the contributors to the amazing cauldron of cultures, ages, races, and ethnicities that has been at the core of the Art Students League’s practice and community. 

 The Masters is a celebration of this unique art institution and of the students and teachers who are central to its history and its impact on art-making, art history, and the American tradition of openness and acceptance of diverseness.  A portion of the proceeds of opening night sales at Hirschl & Adler will go to benefit the Art Students League.

 The Masters takes place at the three differing venues, with staggered openings. Hirschl & Adler, on Thursday, October 18, at 6 p.m. will exhibit paintings and sculptures by major 20th century Art Students League master artists.  On Sunday, October 28, 511 Projects in Chelsea, opens The Masters: Works on Paper, champagne and conversation, a show of drawings, prints, oils and watercolors by many of the same artists. On Thursday, November 1, the Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery at the Art Students League opens an exhibition of works from the last years of the 20th century through the present by master teachers and students.

 A scholarly, full-color catalog will accompany this exhibition.

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