School of New York Revisited: 11 + 11 + 1

In 1959, the collector and critic B.H. Friedman published “School of New York: Some Younger Artists,” a selection of eleven artists of the period with varied approaches: Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Goodnough, Grace Hartigan, Jasper Johns, Alfred Leslie, Joan Mitchell, Ray Parker, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Jon Schueler, Richard Stankiewicz. Though admirably wide-ranging, this list is hardly definitive. “School of New York” Revisited proposes a broader, more diverse overview, adding twelve other artists, all of whom worked and exhibited in New York in the late 1950s, often in the same shows and institutions as the artists on Friedman’s list, but frequently investigated alternative ideas. They are: Peter Agostini, Ed Clark, Lois Dodd, Jean Follett, Judith Godwin, Stephen Greene, Alex Katz, Jacob Lawrence, Jan Müller, Alfonso Ossorio, Pat Passlof, Thomas Sills. Considering both groups together offers a capsule overview of taste in mid-20th century America and insight into how perceptions and evaluations of works of art evolve and change over time.