Jan Matulka
Encyclopedia
Jan Matulka was a Czech-American
modern art
ist originally from Bohemia
. Matulka's style would range from Abstract expressionism
to landscapes
, sometimes in the same day.
, Bohemia
, then part of Austria–Hungary and now part of Czech Republic
. In 1907 Jan, his parents Maria and John, and his five younger sisters moved to The Bronx
. Soon after John separated from Jan's mother and left the family alone and with little money.
In 1908 Jan Matulka began studying at the National Academy of Design
in New York City. Upon graduation in 1917 Matulka met Ludmila "Lída" Jiroušková who would on May 1, 1918 become his wife. Lída Matulka worked for the New York Public Library
as the head of the Czechoslovak
literature section and helped connect her husband to the larger cultural community.
Between 1917 and 1918 Matulka traveled around the United States and the Caribbean as the first recipient of the Joseph Pulitzer National Traveling Scholarship, painting as he went. While in the Southwest
he became one of the first modern art
ists to portray the Hopi
snake rain dance
.
. In 1920 the pair compiled a second book; The Shoemaker's Apron; published by Harcourt Brace & Company
The next few years Jan and Lida traveled to Czechoslovakia
to visit the old family farm, as well as Germany and France. Matulka found inspiration in the scenery of Tŭri Pôle
village, a place that fueled many more paintings over the years. Jan established a studio in Paris and would over-winter there while Lida returned to New York City each October. In Paris he was acquaintances with Gertrude Stein
, André Lhote
, Jean Lurçat
, Josef Šíma
, Václav Vytlačil, and Albert Gleizes
.
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In the 1920s Matulka maintained both his studios, frequently traveling to and fro from Paris to New York City. Around the middle of the decade Matulka began painting stark and jazzy cityscape
s. This by no means meant he limited himself to that style, as he was also painting landscapes
in Cape Ann
, as well as Abstract
pieces.
Katherine Sophie Dreier
became his patron briefly from 1925 to 1926, which came to a premature end mainly due to petty disagreements and Matulka's general lack of social grace, ranging from tardiness to tantrums. In November 1926 he started to contribute illustrations to The New Masses
.
In 1927, Matulka began an association with the Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery. The clientele of the gallery wanted more conservative and representational works so Matulka complied because he needed the income. Again, this did not prevent him from painting in other styles for other outlets. In 1928 he began drawing from the model when he started meeting with the Society of Independent Artists
, while contributing illustrations to the socialist
Dělník Kalendar.
With help from Max Weber
and Václav Vytlačil Matulka landed a teaching job at the Art Students League of New York
, his first salaried position. Being the only modernist
faculty member, his classes were quite popular. His students include Dorothy Dehner
, Francis Criss
, Burgoyne Diller
, I. Rice Pereira
, and David Smith
. The lattermost would later state that Matulka was the greatest influence on his work. Matulka was pushed out of his position at the Art Students League by conservative factions in 1931, but with encouragement from students he continued teaching a private class, which later disbanded in 1932. Matulka continued teaching one-on-one classes for a time after that.
Personal and global financial woes soon prevented Matulka from traveling annually to Paris. In 1928 he sublet his studio there to jazz painter Stuart Davis
. Later Josef Šíma
sublet it, taking it over completely from Matulka in 1934. Šíma stored all Matulka's paintings and other works left in the studio, eventually transporting them to his own house in Fontainebleau
, where unfortunately these things did not survive World War II.
From 1934 until it ended in 1935 Matulka became one of the few abstract painters to join the Public Works of Art Project
, giving him a taste for mural
s and public art. Immediately afterward he joined the Federal Art Project
and also worked on the Williamsburg Houses
, eventually completing two murals, both of which were eventually destroyed or painted over.
, but refused to join the group. His emotional state continued to decline, even more so when his sister Barbara killed herself on July 5. By the time his association with the Federal Art Project
ended in 1939 he had become even more socially and emotionally isolated. He continued painting more and more experimental works.
Over the next few decades Matulka received much acclaim from his exhibitions, but remains relatively withdrawn from society. As age caught up with him, he suffered from many health issues, including deafness
. Matulka died June 25, 1972 in New York City.
Czech American
Czech Americans are citizens of the United States who were born in, or who descended from, the territory of the historic Czech lands, , or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic...
modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
ist originally from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. Matulka's style would range from Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
to landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, sometimes in the same day.
Early life
Matulka was born on November 7, 1890 in Vlachovo BřezíVlachovo Brezí
-History:The oldest notice about this city is dated to 1274 A.D. First owners were Michal, Vernéř and Vchyna from Březí.According to a song by popular Czech band Yo Yo Band, the prettiest girls in the Czech Republic come from Vlachovo Březí.- Famous people :...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, then part of Austria–Hungary and now part of Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. In 1907 Jan, his parents Maria and John, and his five younger sisters moved to The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. Soon after John separated from Jan's mother and left the family alone and with little money.
In 1908 Jan Matulka began studying at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
in New York City. Upon graduation in 1917 Matulka met Ludmila "Lída" Jiroušková who would on May 1, 1918 become his wife. Lída Matulka worked for the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
as the head of the Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
literature section and helped connect her husband to the larger cultural community.
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
he became one of the first modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
ists to portray the Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
snake rain dance
Rain dancing
Rainmaking is an ethnographic term for rituals intended to invoke rain.Among the most well known examples of rainmaking rituals are North American rain dances, historically performed by many Native American tribes, particularly in the Southwestern United States. Some of these traditions have...
.
Work
In 1919 Matulka illustrated Czechoslovak Fairy Tales with writer Parker Fillmore and published by Hippocrene BooksHippocrene Books
Hippocrene Books is a US publishing press located at 171 Madison Avenue, New York City, NY 10016.Hippocrene specializes in books on folklore, ethnic cookbooks , translations of classic literature, and foreign-language reference works...
. In 1920 the pair compiled a second book; The Shoemaker's Apron; published by Harcourt Brace & Company
Harcourt Trade Publishers
Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...
The next few years Jan and Lida traveled to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
to visit the old family farm, as well as Germany and France. Matulka found inspiration in the scenery of Tŭri Pôle
Tŭri Pôle
Tŭri Pôle was a village of the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. It was founded in 1337, but in 1951 the people of Tŭri Pôle were forcibly displaced for military purposes....
village, a place that fueled many more paintings over the years. Jan established a studio in Paris and would over-winter there while Lida returned to New York City each October. In Paris he was acquaintances with Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
, André Lhote
André Lhote
André Lhote was a French sculptor and painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also very active and influential as a teacher and writer on art....
, Jean Lurçat
Jean Lurçat
Jean Lurçat was a French artist noted for his role in the revival of contemporary tapestry.-Biography:He was born in Bruyères, Vosges, the son of Lucien Jean Baptiste Lurçat and Marie Emilie Marguerite L'Hote. He was the brother of André Lurçat, who became an architect...
, Josef Šíma
Josef Sima
Josef Šíma was a renowned Czech painter, an important figure of modern European art.- Biography :After graduating from Academy of Arts in Prague where he was the student of Jan Preisler he was involved in the Devětsil movement and in Umělecká beseda in Prague before travelling to Paris in 1921. He...
, Václav Vytlačil, and Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes , was a French painter. Born Albert Léon Gleizes and raised in Paris, he was the son of a fabric designer who ran a large industrial design workshop...
.
Cityscape
A cityscape is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and...
s. This by no means meant he limited himself to that style, as he was also painting landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
in Cape Ann
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
, as well as Abstract
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
pieces.
Katherine Sophie Dreier
Katherine Sophie Dreier
Katherine Sophie Dreier was an artist and a patron of the arts. Her paintings were abstract with spiritual emphasis, and she was a member of the Abstraction-Création group.-Birth:...
became his patron briefly from 1925 to 1926, which came to a premature end mainly due to petty disagreements and Matulka's general lack of social grace, ranging from tardiness to tantrums. In November 1926 he started to contribute illustrations to The New Masses
The New Masses
The "New Masses" was a prominent American Marxist publication edited by Walt Carmon, briefly by Whittaker Chambers, and primarily by Michael Gold, Granville Hicks, and Joseph Freeman....
.
In 1927, Matulka began an association with the Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery. The clientele of the gallery wanted more conservative and representational works so Matulka complied because he needed the income. Again, this did not prevent him from painting in other styles for other outlets. In 1928 he began drawing from the model when he started meeting with the Society of Independent Artists
Society of Independent Artists
Society of Independent Artists was an association of American artists founded in 1916 and based in New York.Based on the French Société des Artistes Indépendants, the goal of the society was to hold annual exhibitions by avant-garde artists. Exhibitions were to be open to anyone who wanted to...
, while contributing illustrations to the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
Dělník Kalendar.
With help from Max Weber
Max Weber (artist)
For the social theorist and philosopher, see Max WeberMax Weber was a Jewish-American painter who worked in the style of cubism before migrating to Jewish themes towards the end of his life.-Biography:...
and Václav Vytlačil Matulka landed a teaching job at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, his first salaried position. Being the only modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
faculty member, his classes were quite popular. His students include Dorothy Dehner
Dorothy Dehner
-Biography:She grew up in Cleveland.In 1918, she took classes at the Pasadena Playhouse, and studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.In 1922, she moved to New York City, and studied at the Art Students League....
, Francis Criss
Francis Criss
Francis Hyman Criss was an American painter. Criss's style is associated with the American Precisionists like Charles Demuth and his friend Charles Sheeler.Criss was born in London and immigrated with his family at age 4...
, Burgoyne Diller
Burgoyne Diller
Burgoyne A. Diller was an American abstract painter. Many of his best-known works are characterized by orthogonal geometric forms that reflect his strong interest in the De Stijl movement and the work of Piet Mondrian in particular...
, I. Rice Pereira
I. Rice Pereira
Irene Rice Pereira was an American abstract artist, known for her work in the Geometric abstraction, Abstract expressionist, and Lyrical Abstraction genres and her use of the principles of the Bauhaus school....
, and David Smith
David Smith (sculptor)
David Roland Smith was an American Abstract Expressionist sculptor and painter, best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.-Biography:...
. The lattermost would later state that Matulka was the greatest influence on his work. Matulka was pushed out of his position at the Art Students League by conservative factions in 1931, but with encouragement from students he continued teaching a private class, which later disbanded in 1932. Matulka continued teaching one-on-one classes for a time after that.
Personal and global financial woes soon prevented Matulka from traveling annually to Paris. In 1928 he sublet his studio there to jazz painter Stuart Davis
Stuart Davis (painter)
Stuart Davis , was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia to Edward Wyatt...
. Later Josef Šíma
Josef Sima
Josef Šíma was a renowned Czech painter, an important figure of modern European art.- Biography :After graduating from Academy of Arts in Prague where he was the student of Jan Preisler he was involved in the Devětsil movement and in Umělecká beseda in Prague before travelling to Paris in 1921. He...
sublet it, taking it over completely from Matulka in 1934. Šíma stored all Matulka's paintings and other works left in the studio, eventually transporting them to his own house in Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, where unfortunately these things did not survive World War II.
From 1934 until it ended in 1935 Matulka became one of the few abstract painters to join the Public Works of Art Project
Public Works of Art Project
The Public Works of Art Project was a program to employ artists, as part of the New Deal, during the Great Depression. It was the first such program, running from December 1933 to June 1934...
, giving him a taste for mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s and public art. Immediately afterward he joined the Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
and also worked on the Williamsburg Houses
Williamsburg Houses
The Williamsburg Houses, originally called the Ten Eyck Houses, is a New York City Housing Authority development in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn neighborhood, New York City, New York....
, eventually completing two murals, both of which were eventually destroyed or painted over.
Isolation and death
In 1936 Matulka helped found the American Abstract ArtistsAmerican Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas, and for...
, but refused to join the group. His emotional state continued to decline, even more so when his sister Barbara killed herself on July 5. By the time his association with the Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
ended in 1939 he had become even more socially and emotionally isolated. He continued painting more and more experimental works.
Over the next few decades Matulka received much acclaim from his exhibitions, but remains relatively withdrawn from society. As age caught up with him, he suffered from many health issues, including deafness
Hearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
. Matulka died June 25, 1972 in New York City.
Exhibitions
- June 1920: Société AnonymeSociété Anonyme (art)Société Anonyme, Inc. was an art organization founded in 1920 by Katherine Dreier, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. The society sponsored lectures, concerts, publications, and exhibitions of modern art, including the International Exhibition of Modern Art at the Brooklyn Museum in 1926...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(group show with Patrick Henry BrucePatrick Henry BrucePatrick Henry Bruce was an American cubist painter.-Biography:A descendant of Patrick Henry, Bruce was born in Campbell County, Virginia, the second of four children. His family had once owned a huge plantation, Berry Hill, worked by over 3,000 slaves...
, DaughertyDaugherty-People:* Billy Joe Daugherty , American founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center* Brad Daugherty, American basketball player* Brad Daugherty, professional poker player* Chris Daugherty, reality television show winner...
, and Van Everen) - 1924: Salon des Indépendants, Paris
- 1924: Exhibition of American Art, Paris
- 1924: Neue GalerieNeue GalerieThe Neue Galerie New York is a museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design located at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States...
, New York City (two-person show with James Ormsbee ChapinJames Ormsbee ChapinJames Ormsbee Chapin was an American painter and illustrator....
) - 1925: Artist's Gallery cooperative, New York City (solo)
- 1926: Art Center, New York City (solo)
- 1926: Brooklyn MuseumBrooklyn MuseumThe Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, Brooklyn, New York (group show) - 1927: Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery, New York City (two-person show with Hayley LeverHayley LeverHayley Lever was an Australian-American painter, etcher, lecturer and art teacher.-Life and work:Richard Hayley Lever was born in Australia on 28 September 1876...
) - 1929: Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York City (solo) - 1929: Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery, New York City (solo)
- 1930: Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery, New York City (solo)
- 1931 or 1932: Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New YorkThe Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, New York City (group show with Stuart DavisStuart Davis (painter)Stuart Davis , was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia to Edward Wyatt...
, John D. GrahamJohn D. GrahamJohn D. Graham was a Ukrainian-born American Modernist / figurative painter.He was born Ivan Gratianovitch Dombrowsky in Kiev, Ukraine...
, and Arshile GorkyArshile GorkyArshile Gorky was an Armenian-born American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. As such, his works were often speculated to have been informed by the suffering and loss he experienced of the Armenian genocide.-Early life:...
) - Spring 1932: Montclair Art MuseumMontclair Art MuseumThe Montclair Art Museum is located in Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.-Collection:The Montclair Art Museum is one of the few museums in the United States devoted to American art and Native American art forms. The collection consists of more than 12,000 works...
, Montclair, New JerseyMontclair, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile... - 1933: Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery, New York City (solo)
- 1936: Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York City (group) - 1942: Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, New York City (group show with Adolph GottliebAdolph GottliebAdolph Gottlieb was an American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor and graphic artist.-Biography:Gottlieb was born in New York to Jewish parents. From 1920-1921 he studied at the Art Students League of New York, after which he traveled in France and Germany for a year...
, Mark RothkoMark RothkoMark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
, Carl HoltyCarl HoltyCarl Robert Holty was a German-born American abstract painter. Raised in Wisconsin, he was the first major abstract painter to gain notoriety from the state. Harold Rosenberg described Holty as "a figure of our art history," known for his use of color, shape and form.-Personal life and...
, John D. GrahamJohn D. GrahamJohn D. Graham was a Ukrainian-born American Modernist / figurative painter.He was born Ivan Gratianovitch Dombrowsky in Kiev, Ukraine...
, and Arshile GorkyArshile GorkyArshile Gorky was an Armenian-born American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. As such, his works were often speculated to have been informed by the suffering and loss he experienced of the Armenian genocide.-Early life:...
) - 1944: ACA Galleries, New York City (solo)
- 1965: Zabriske Gallery, New York City (solo)
- 1979: Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York City (solo) - 21 November 1980 - 8 February 1981: Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, Washington, D.C. (solo) - September 21 - November 14, 1982: Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, New York City (solo) - 1989: Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City (solo)
- 1992: James Graham & Sons, New York City (two-person show with Václav Vytlačil)
- 1995: Thomas McCormick Gallery, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(solo) - 1999: Richard York Gallery, New York City
- - April 7, 2002: National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, New York City (group show with Stuart DavisStuart Davis (painter)Stuart Davis , was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia to Edward Wyatt...
, Arthur DoveArthur DoveArthur Garfield Dove was an American artist. An early American modernist, he is often considered the first American abstract painter.-Youth and education:...
, Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia O'KeeffeGeorgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
, Robert MotherwellRobert MotherwellRobert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, Ellsworth KellyEllsworth KellyEllsworth Kelly is an American painter and sculptor associated with Hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and the Minimalist school. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing the simplicity of form found similar to the work of John McLaughlin. Kelly often employs bright colors to...
, Ilya BolotowskyIlya BolotowskyIlya Bolotowsky was a leading early 20th-century painter in abstract styles in New York City. His work, a search for philosophical order through visual expression, embraced cubism and geometric abstraction and was much influenced by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.Born to Jewish parents in St...
, Carl HoltyCarl HoltyCarl Robert Holty was a German-born American abstract painter. Raised in Wisconsin, he was the first major abstract painter to gain notoriety from the state. Harold Rosenberg described Holty as "a figure of our art history," known for his use of color, shape and form.-Personal life and...
, Willem de KooningWillem de KooningWillem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Robert RauschenbergRobert RauschenbergRobert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, and others) - September 18, 2004 – January 16, 2005: Montclair Art MuseumMontclair Art MuseumThe Montclair Art Museum is located in Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.-Collection:The Montclair Art Museum is one of the few museums in the United States devoted to American art and Native American art forms. The collection consists of more than 12,000 works...
, Montclair, New JerseyMontclair, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile... - March 1 – May 1, 2005: Greenville County Museum of ArtGreenville County Museum of ArtThe Greenville County Museum of Art is an art museum located in Greenville, South Carolina. Its collections focus mainly on American art, and its holdings include works by Andrew Wyeth, Josef Albers, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Ronnie Landfield, Eric Fischl, Marylyn...
, Greenville, South CarolinaGreenville, South Carolina-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families... - June 18 – July 24, 2005: Lowe Art MuseumLowe Art MuseumThe Lowe Art Museum is an art museum located in Coral Gables, Florida, a Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County. The museum is run and operated by the University of Miami and opened in 1950. The museum has an extensive collection of art with permanent collections in Greco-Roman antiquities, Renaissance,...
, Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami.... - July 9 - August 27, 2005: Thomas McCormick Gallery, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- August 27 – November 27, 2005: Georgia Museum of ArtGeorgia Museum of ArtThe Georgia Museum of Art is an art museum in Athens, Georgia, associated with the University of Georgia.The museum is also, since 1982, the official state museum of art. Located on the East Campus of UGA, in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex, it opened in 1948...
, Athens, GeorgiaAthens, GeorgiaAthens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city... - January 14 – March 19, 2006: Avampato Discovery Museum, Charleston, West VirginiaCharleston, West VirginiaCharleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
- April 9 – June 11, 2006: Butler Institute of American ArtButler Institute of American ArtThe Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating pro bono since 1919...
, Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania... - June 10 - September 9, 2006: Cape Ann Historical Museum, Gloucester, MassachusettsGloucester, MassachusettsGloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
- July 6 - August 19, 2007: Arkansas Arts CenterArkansas Arts CenterOne of the leading cultural institutions in the state, the Arkansas Arts Center is located on the corner of 9th and Commerce streets in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. The Arkansas Arts Center was founded in 1960, but the idea began in 1914, when the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas formed...
, Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census... - December 15, 2007 - February 3, 2008: Lowe Art MuseumLowe Art MuseumThe Lowe Art Museum is an art museum located in Coral Gables, Florida, a Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County. The museum is run and operated by the University of Miami and opened in 1950. The museum has an extensive collection of art with permanent collections in Greco-Roman antiquities, Renaissance,...
, Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
(group show with many artists from Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New YorkThe Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
) - 10 April – 7 September 2008: British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London (group show, The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock) - 28 February – 19 April 2009: Djanogly Art Gallery, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
(group show, The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock) - 2 May – 31 August 2009: Brighton Museum & Art GalleryBrighton Museum & Art GalleryBrighton Museum & Art Gallery is a free-to-view municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England...
, BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
(group show, The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock) - 19 September – 13 December 2009: Whitworth Art GalleryWhitworth Art GalleryThe Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(group show, The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock) - March 19 - August 22, 2009: Jersey City MuseumJersey City MuseumJersey City Museum is a former art museum that was most recently located in the Van Vorst Park section of Downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. Serving a diverse community, the Museum collects, exhibits, preserves, and interprets its collections of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, works on paper,...
, Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
(group show with Louis LozowickLouis LozowickLouis Lozowick was an American painter and a printmaker. He was born in Russian Empire , came to United States in 1906, and died in New Jersey in 1973...
, Riva Helfond, Elsie DriggsElsie DriggsElsie Driggs was an American painter mostly known for her contributions to the Precisionism movement of the 1920s, as well as her floral and figurative paintings in watercolor, pastels, and oils later on in her career...
, and Victoria Hutson Huntley) - 12 August - 18 October 2009: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de BarcelonaCentre de Cultura Contemporània de BarcelonaThe Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona is one of the most visited exhibition and arts centres in the city of Barcelona.Situated in the Raval district, the Centre’s core theme is the city and urban culture...
, BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
(group show with Man RayMan RayMan Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
, Miguel CovarrubiasMiguel CovarrubiasJosé Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud was a Mexican painter and caricaturist, ethnologist and art historian among other interests. In 1924 at the age of 19 he moved to New York City armed with a grant from the Mexican government, tremendous talent, but very little English speaking skill. Luckily,...
, and many others) - 29 July - 16 October 2011: Academy Art Museum, Easton, MarylandEaston, MarylandEaston, founded 1710, is a town within the Easton District of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,708 at the 2000 census, and 14,677 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Talbot County. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the...
(Modernist Inclinations: The Art of Jan Matulka)