Oregon museum acquires collection of late critic Clement Greenberg

The Color Field movement, characterized by the use of pure color on raw canvas, is represented in Jules Olitski's 1962 "The Prince Patutszky-Red"

In this story: Keeping collection together Friendships with artists Notable works Influence on other critics RELATED STORIES, SITES

PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) -- Oregon's Portland Art Museum has acquired 152 paintings and sculptures, spanning more than five decades, from the private collection of the late New York art critic Clement Greenberg.

In the collection are works by major American artists from the Abstract Expressionism and Post-Painterly Abstraction movements of the 1950s and 1960s, John E. Buchanan Jr., the museum's executive director, said in a recent announcement. Greenberg helped shape their careers, he said.

Greenberg had the greatest influence on Jackson Pollock, an advocate of the Abstract Expressionism movement, but also helped foster the careers of Hans Hofmann, David Smith, Helen Frankenthaler, Friedel Dzubas, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski and Anthony Caro.

	RESOURCES
ART MUSEUM SITES: international u.s. cities: a-h u.s. cities: i-q u.s. cities: r-z

Greenberg died in 1994 at age 85. His widow, Janice Van Horne of New York City, decided to sell the collection to make it available for public viewing, Buchanan said.

Money for the purchase came from Tom and Gretchen Holce, with additional support provided by Carol and John Hampton, all residents of Portland.

It is the museum's single largest purchased acquisition since 1948, when it acquired the Rasmussen collection of Northwest Coast Indian art.

The museum will exhibit the collection next summer, before letting it go on tour.

"Ms. Van Horne's primary goal in selecting the Portland Art Museum was to keep the entire collection together and to see it receive serious scholarship and care," Buchanan said.

Van Horne also is donating her husband's annotated library of exhibition catalogues and publications on artists in his collection. Many of these documents, which will be in the museum's library, have Greenberg's notes in the margins, the director said.

Jackson Pollock's "Birthday," 1951, was a gift from the artist to Greenberg on his 42nd birthday

"This acquisition provides the Portland Art Museum with a quantum leap forward for its Modern collection," said Bruce Guenther, curator of modern and contemporary art.

The Greenberg collection begins with a work on paper by Pollock and continues through the movement Greenberg titled "Post-Painterly Abstraction," represented by such artists as Walter Darby Bannard, Darryl Hughto and Larry Poons.

"The works in this collection reflect Greenberg's ideas and his passions, his friendships and his associations with American and European artists," Guenther said.

In the collection is a drawing Pollock created as a gift for Greenberg for his 42nd birthday.

Besides Pollock's drawing, works by Frankenthaler, Hofmann, Dzubas, and Adolph Gottlieb represent Abstract Expressionism. Included in the collection are three works by Frankenthaler, who developed the stain technique, including "Spaced Out Orbit" (1973).

Key works by Noland, Olitski and others represent the Color Field movement of the 1960s, in which artists explored the use of liquid, pure color on raw canvas, according to the museum. The collection features "Number One," done in 1958, the first "target" painting by Noland. The museum describes it as a masterpiece of the movement, where the artist explores the flatness of paint.

"Number One," 1958, is the first "target" painting by Kenneth Noland, and is considered a masterpiece of the Color Field movement

The latest movement represented in depth in the Greenberg collection is Post-Painterly Abstraction, represented by such artists as Walter Darby Bannard, Darryl Hughto and Larry Poons.

Clement Greenberg was born in New York's Bronx in 1909. His parents were Russian immigrants. According to the Portland museum, he began making his mark as an art critic in 1939, with his landmark essay "Avant-Garde and Kitsch."

He had a front-row seat as New York surpassed Paris as the world's art capital. According to the museum, he was the first art critic to recognize the importance of Pollock, calling him "the most powerful painter in America."

He was also an influence on many art historians and critics, including T.J. Clark, Michael Fried, Thomas Hess, Rosalind Krauss, Max Kozloff, Hal Foster, Benjamin Buchloh, Harold Rosenberg and Robert Goldwater.

He was editor of Partisan Review from 1940 to 1942 and an art writer for The Nation from 1942 to 1949. In 1965, Greenberg wrote "Art and Culture: Critical Essays," followed by "Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism" in 1986 and other publications.

Portland Art Museum in Oregon shows off new space
August 18, 2000
CNN.com Special: City Limits (Portland, Oregon)
September 20, 2000
Destinations: Perfectly Portland
June 1998

The Greenberg Symposia: Jackson Pollock
The Greenberg Symposia: Clement Greenberg
Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Clement Greenberg
Abstract Expressionism (St. Mary's College of Maryland)

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.