Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Artist:
Hans Namuth, 17 Mar 1915 - 13 Oct 1990  Search this
Sitter:
Barnett Newman, 29 Jan 1905 - 04 Jul 1970  Search this
Jackson Pollock, 28 Jan 1912 - 11 Aug 1956  Search this
Tony Smith, 1912 - 26 Dec 1980  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 54.7cm x 45.7cm (21 9/16" x 18")
Sheet: 60.7cm x 50.6cm (23 7/8" x 19 15/16")
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\New York\Kings\New York
Date:
1951
Exhibition Label:
This photograph represents three pioneers in the field of abstract art, who were also close friends and collaborators. The painters Barnett Newman (1905–1970; left) and Jackson Pollock (1912–1956; center) and the architect (later sculptor) Tony Smith (1912–1980; right) met in the late 1940s and bonded through their efforts to expand the parameters of contemporary art. Pollock debuted his classic drippour paintings in 1947; Newman created his signature “zip” (a band of vertical color) in 1948; and Smith drew on his architectural experience to install their work at the gallery of Betty Parsons—one of the few dealers willing to represent such unconventional artists at the time.
Hans Namuth photographed the three friends in 1951, sitting on a bench outside Newman’s second solo exhibition at Parsons’s Midtown gallery. The complexity of their relationship is suggested by Newman’s remark that everything he did “had meaning only in relation to Pollock’s work and against it.”
En esta foto aparecen tres pioneros del arte abstracto que fueron amigos y colaboradores. Los pintores Barnett Newman (1905–1970, izq.) y Jackson Pollock (1912–1956, centro) y el arquitecto (luego escultor) Tony Smith (1912–1980, der.) se conocieron a fines de la década de 1940 y forjaron vínculos en su propósito de expandir los parámetros del arte contemporáneo. Pollock introdujo su clásico estilo de chorrear pintura sobre el lienzo en 1947; Newman creó su emblemático “zip” (una banda de color vertical) en 1948; y Smith utilizó su experiencia como arquitecto para instalar las obras del grupo en la galería de Betty Parsons, una de los pocos agentes dispuestos a representar a artistas tan poco convencionales en aquella época.
Hans Namuth los fotografió en 1951, sentados a la entrada de la segunda exposición de Newman en la galería de Parsons, en el centro de Manhattan. La complejidad de su relación se insinúa en el comentario de Newman de que todo lo que hacía “tenía sentido solo en relación con la obra de Pollock, y en oposición a ella”.
Topic:
Artwork\Painting  Search this
Equipment\Smoking Implements\Cigarette  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Bench  Search this
Interior\Museum  Search this
Barnett Newman: Male  Search this
Barnett Newman: Visual Arts\Artist\Sculptor  Search this
Barnett Newman: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this
Tony Smith: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this
Tony Smith: Male  Search this
Tony Smith: Visual Arts\Artist\Sculptor  Search this
Tony Smith: Visual Arts\Architect  Search this
Tony Smith: Visual Arts\Art instructor  Search this
Jackson Pollock: Male  Search this
Jackson Pollock: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this
Jackson Pollock: Visual Arts\Artist\Abstract Expressionist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Estate of Hans Namuth
Object number:
NPG.95.151
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Hans Namuth Ltd.
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4607a4d1b-f1e0-49c5-8c88-5e4568a026d5
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.95.151