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Catalog Data

Artist:
Bill Witt, 1921 - 2013  Search this
Sitter:
Hans Hofmann, 21 Mar 1880 - 17 Feb 1966  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 28.5cm x 26.9cm (11 1/4" x 10 9/16"), Accurate
Sheet: 30.6cm x 27.5cm (12 1/16" x 10 13/16"), Accurate
Mount: 38.2cm x 27.4cm (15 1/16" x 10 13/16"), Accurate
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\Massachusetts\Barnstable\Provincetown
Date:
1948
Exhibition Label:
Hans Hofmann was one of the twentieth century’s most influential art teachers and a key figure in the development of abstraction in American art. Early in his career, Hofmann associated with avant-garde artists in Paris and later operated a modernist art school in Munich. After relocating to New York City, he taught briefly at the Art Students’ League and in 1934 established the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in Midtown Manhattan. Through his detailed critiques of individual works, Hofmann pushed students to strive for greater tech nical rigor, but he allowed them free rein to pursue individual expression and experimentation. “There were so many different approaches to painting and drawing going on side by side and you had the feeling anything was possible,” Abstract Expressionist Michael Goldberg later recalled. This photograph shows Hofmann conducting a group critique at the summer art school he opened in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1935.
Hans Hofmann fue uno de los maestros de arte más influyentes del siglo XX y figura clave en el desarrollo de la abstracción estadounidense. Temprano en su carrera se relacionó con los vanguardistas en París y más tarde dirigió una escuela de arte moderno en Múnich. Luego de radicarse en la ciudad de Nueva York, impartió clases en la Liga de Estudiantes de Arte y en 1934 fundó la Escuela de Bellas Artes Hans Hofmann en el centro de Manhattan. Con sus detalladas críticas individualizadas, Hofmann impulsaba a sus estudiantes hacia un mayor rigor técnico, pero con libertad de experimentar y desarrollar la expresión personal. “Coexistían allí tantos enfoques diferentes de pintura y dibujo que uno tenía la impresión de que todo era posible”, recordó más tarde el expresionista abstracto Michael Goldberg. Esta foto muestra a Hofmann dirigiendo una crítica grupal en la escuela de verano que abrió en Provincetown, Massachusetts, en 1935.
Topic:
Artwork\Painting  Search this
Interior\Studio\Art  Search this
Art implements\Easel  Search this
Architecture\Balcony  Search this
Home Furnishings\Fan  Search this
Hans Hofmann: Male  Search this
Hans Hofmann: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this
Hans Hofmann: Visual Arts\Art instructor  Search this
Hans Hofmann: Visual Arts\Artist\Abstract Expressionist  Search this
Hans Hofmann: Literature\Writer\Art writer  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Bill Witt
Object number:
NPG.93.143
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© BIll Witt
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4f6995743-7767-415e-ae35-231c6756bbab
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.93.143