177:(1911–1960) was arguably the most important painter of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. Park was an Abstract Expressionist painter, based in San Francisco, and one of the first to move towards the figurative style of painting. In the spring of 1951, Park won a prize for a figurative canvas that he submitted to a competitive exhibition. Park's turn to figurative style baffled some of his colleagues, as at the time, abstract painting was the only way to go for progressive artists. His move prompted a rise in figurative art which became one of the most important postwar developments on the West Coast.
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496:(1919–1990) painted mostly in oil. Her work was noted for its strong colors and shapes. Berk developed her own unique approach to art with daring use of color and unique interpretation of shape and light. Her work is remarkable considering the challenging times for female artists in the 1960s and the glass ceiling she fought so hard to break. Berk attended the
369:(1920–2008) both felt strongly influenced by the more established artists' work. In 1955, both Brown and Wonner rented studio spaces within the same building which was also the building where Diebenkorn worked. Diebenkorn, Bischoff and Park joined Brown and Wonner to hold life-drawing sessions. They were occasionally joined by James Weeks and Nathan Oliviera.
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mouthings". After returning from war in 1945, he felt impelled to challenge all the assumptions that he held about art as well as life. When asked about this in an interview, he said, “Until then art had been an external acquisition; became more of a quest.” It was around this time that he was hired
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created colorful, expansive paintings depicting her life and experiences in San
Francisco, where she lived and worked in for nearly all her life. Her time as a figurative artist was intense and productive and provided some of the most important works of the Movement. Brown earned a BFA and MFA from
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Rather than going through a slow transformation from abstract paintings to figures, it is believed that Park's abstractions disappeared instantly. An interview with Park's aunt suggested that Park drove his abstract paintings to a dump and released or ritually destroyed them. His colleagues did not
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was a sculptor. Neri explored abstraction during the early stages of his career, like all the younger Bay Area
Figurative artists. It was only after he left school in 1959 that he took up figuration. It allowed him to synthesize his interests in color and form and to play with the ambiguities of
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and won the $ 200 first prize for it. This feat earned him a solo show at the Paul Kantor
Gallery in Los Angeles. However, it was a one-person show of paintings and drawings in January 1956 at the California School of Fine Arts gallery that Bischoff believed had the biggest impact on his future.
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Neri, only two years younger than Nathan
Oliveira, had a similar childhood and like Oliveira had no interest in art as a kid. The only reason Neri took a course in ceramics in school was to lighten his load. His ceramics teacher was Roy Walker who encouraged him to pursue art further by taking
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Figuration was not a furtive process for McGaw. Like other second-generation artists, he was not confined to any particular style and moved from one style to the other. One of McGaw's first mature figurative paintings clearly showed influences from
Diebenkorn but McGaw also showed a lot of new
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The New York School of
Abstract Expressionism was the first American style of art to have international importance. The San Francisco Bay Area was the center for an independent variant of Abstract Expressionism. The Bay Area Figurative movement was in response to both.
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Wonner's figurative works were displayed in an exhibition held at the
California School of Fine Arts gallery late in 1956. From the very beginning Wonner was committed to conventions of representation, and identified line as a firm descriptive boundary and edge.
279:'s exhibition "Younger American Painters", resulted in his work was extensively shown by dealers in Los Angeles and Chicago. Along with his national reputation for his abstract work, Diebenkorn was also a beloved abstractionist among the locals in Sausalito.
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In 2004, Hackett
Freedman Gallery in San Francisco held an exhibition of 35 of David Park's works from 1953 to 1960. These were the works that marked the final years of his life and the exhibition was held to celebrate his life as well as his return to
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After that he focused on figurative art but it was not until 1956 that he attempted complex figurative paintings. His earliest figurative works seemed to loosely be based on self-portraits. He returned to abstraction in the mid-1960s.
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and took one of the first classes taught by
Diebenkorn in 1955. McGaw had a close relationship with Diebenkorn, who even met with McGaw's parents to show them his support for their son's works. McGaw also studied with
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content. It is the non-specificity of his figures and their abstract qualities that make his sculptures part of the Bay Area
Figurative Movement and not just any contemporary figurative sculpture in America.
416:. He lives in the Bay Area and continues to paint actively. Petersen's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the country, and is represented in major museum collections, including the
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FitzSimons, Casey. "'Transformation: The Art Of Joan Brown' At The Berkeley Art Museum And The Oakland Museum Of California." Artweek 29.12 (1998): 12-13. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 5 May 2016.
60:, and worked in that manner, until several of them abandoned non-objective painting in favor of working with the figure. Among these First Generation Bay Area Figurative School artists were
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Bruce McGaw was born in 1935 and was the only artist from the second generation to be included in the 1957 Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Painting exhibition. He studied at
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turned towards an ebullient chromaticism, but his carving approach to paint handling could be seen in his work throughout until finally he decided to give up oils in 1959.
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June 13, 2020, in conjunction with a book on the artist, "In Living Color, The Art & Life of Henrietta Berk", edited by Cindy Johnson and published by Cool Titles.
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Spanning two decades, this art movement is often broken down into three groups, or generations: the First Generation, the Bridge Generation, and the Second Generation.
408:, and geometric compositions. An active figure in the Bay Area art scene for over forty years, Petersen has taught generations of artists not only painting but also
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Van Proyen, Mark. "David Park at Hackett-Freedman." Art In America 92, no. 4 (April 2004): 140–141. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 13, 2016).
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Many "Second Generation" artists of this movement studied under the First Generation artists, or were late starters. Among these Second Generation artists were
455:, he decided to become a portrait painter. He later went on to serve in the army where he managed to keep up with his art scene. He did not consider himself
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in 1950, which was instrumental in starting the movement. Some of the earlier works in the exhibition suggest that Park responded to the art of
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features of his own. He liked working on a very small scale and broke the body into standard torso views or odd, synecdochal parts.
275:(1922–1993) who took the biggest risk by turning to figuration in 1955. Diebenkorn was nationally recognized for his abstract work.
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Chadwick, Witney (1984). “Narrative Imagism and the Figurative Tradition in Northern California Painting”. Art Journal 45(4), 309.
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the California School of Fine Arts (which became the San Francisco Art Institute). It was there that she met a key mentor, artist
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Just like his abstract work, Bischoff achieved great success with his early figurative works. Bischoff entered his painting
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Many Bay Area schools and institutions were important to the development and refinement of this art movement, including the
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Livingston, Jane, John Elderfield (1997). The Art of Richard Diebenkorn. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1997.
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Susan Landauer; Elmer Bischoff; Oakland Museum; Orange County Museum of Art (Calif.), Norton Museum of Art (2001).
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Susan Landauer; Elmer Bischoff; Oakland Museum; Orange County Museum of Art (Calif.), Norton Museum of Art (2001).
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studio in 1959, in his own words, "became the very foundation of whole identity as a painter in country."
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advanced classes. Neri soon dropped his engineering classes and in 1951 started taking courses at the
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34:, and similar variations) was a mid-20th-century art movement made up of a group of artists in the
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Landauer, Susan (2001). Elmer Bischoff: The Ethics of Paint. Berkeley: University of California.
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Boas, Nancy (2012). David Park: A Painter's Life. Berkeley: University of California.
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embarked on his Picnic series, with their saturated colors, thick layered
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1027:"San Francisco or Nowhere: The Necessity of the Bay to Joan Brown's Art"
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Art in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-1980: An Illustrated History
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even know about this transformation until the following year.
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in the Fifth Annual Oil and Sculpture Exhibition at the
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as a short-term replacement at the school of fine arts.
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in painting during the 1950s and onward into the 1960s.
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and Harry Krell. Some of Berk's most noted works are
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ART REVIEW: Figurative ‘50s Work Whose Time Has Come
1167:, San Jose, CA: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art,
692:"Frank Lobdell, influential Bay Area painter, dies"
829:Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years, 1953-1966
38:who abandoned working in the prevailing style of
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1143:, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
271:Out of all the First Generation artists, it was
950:. University of California Press. p. 261.
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902:Stanford News Service (January/February, 2011)
787:. University of California Press. p. 188.
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193:and his influence is particularly visible in
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602:Noel at the Table with a Large Bowl of Fruit
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879:"Paul Wonner - Artists - Berggruen Gallery"
854:"Richard Diebenkorn 14 March — 7 June 2015"
325:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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1153:Knight, Christopher (December 15, 1989). “
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504:from 1955 to 1959, where she studied with
1220:"The Lighter Side of Bay Area Figuration"
345:Learn how and when to remove this message
204:Some of David Park's important works are
624:, where he officially enrolled in 1952.
1165:The Lighter Side of Bay Area Figuration
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832:. Yale University Press. pp. 15–.
251:Some of Bischoff's important works are
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1132:Gomez, Edward M. (February 5, 1990). “
1127:Who Was Who in American Art: 1564-1975
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622:California College of Arts and Crafts
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473:Some of Nathan's important works are
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384:(1960), while Wonner's works include
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155:California College of Arts and Crafts
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573:, where he worked with abstraction.
323:adding citations to reliable sources
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923:The Henrietta Berk Research Project
784:Elmer Bischoff: The Ethics of Paint
757:Elmer Bischoff: The Ethics of Paint
627:Some of Neri's important works are
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1141:Bay Area Figurative Art: 1950-1965
690:Hamlin, Jesse (19 December 2013).
667:Bay Area Figurative Art, 1950-1965
543:exhibit of her work opened at The
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1134:The San Francisco Rebellion
904:"Obituary: Nathan Oliveira"
665:Jones, Caroline A. (1990).
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151:San Francisco Art Institute
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813:www.georgeadamsgallery.com
438:Philadelphia Museum of Art
376:Some of Brown's works are
253:Figure at window with Boat
24:Bay Area Figurative School
555:Second generation artists
386:Side of the house, Malibu
287:Bridge generation artists
944:Thomas Albright (1985).
925:. Steven Stern Fine Arts
629:Untitled Standing Figure
165:First generation artists
42:in favor of a return to
1245:Artists from California
28:Bay Area Figurative Art
1255:Abstract expressionism
1250:American art movements
1224:San Jose Museum of Art
1085:"Manuel Neri - artnet"
633:College Painting No. 1
58:Abstract Expressionism
40:Abstract Expressionism
36:San Francisco Bay Area
1157:”. Los Angeles Times.
1060:"Joan Brown - artnet"
858:Royal Academy of Arts
483:Adolescent by the Bed
277:James Johnson Sweeney
16:American art movement
996:E. Bischoff (1991).
715:Helen Park Bigelow,
432:, Washington, D.C.;
418:Museum of Modern Art
390:Mountain Near Tucson
319:improve this section
475:Seated Man with Dog
464:Seated Man with Dog
245:Richmond Art Center
241:Figure and Red Wall
32:Bay Area Figuration
22:(also known as the
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1213:The New York Times
1210:by Roberta Smith,
549:Chapman University
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273:Richard Diebenkorn
267:Richard Diebenkorn
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883:www.berggruen.com
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191:Max Beckmann
183:
179:
173:
148:
125:
94:
55:
52:
48:
31:
27:
23:
19:
18:
1094:11 December
1069:11 December
888:11 December
739:11 December
701:11 December
635:(1958–59).
613:Manuel Neri
608:Manuel Neri
600:(1975) and
571:Leon Goldin
560:Bruce McGaw
518:Golden Gate
479:Man Walking
468:San Leandro
457:avant-garde
414:photography
410:printmaking
388:(1965) and
380:(1960) and
140:Manuel Neri
128:Bruce McGaw
109:Paul Wonner
90:James Weeks
70:Rex Ashlock
1234:Categories
1193:0520212584
1183:0520230426
1036:2023-01-29
676:0520068416
652:References
586:Joan Brown
581:Joan Brown
257:Playground
175:David Park
170:David Park
157:, and the
136:Joan Brown
62:David Park
44:figuration
863:25 August
306:does not
261:The River
1136:”. Time.
981:31 March
929:31 March
639:See also
604:(1963).
536:(1968).
528:(1964),
524:(1962),
520:(1961),
516:(1961),
512:(1960),
485:(1959).
477:(1957),
392:(1963).
335:May 2016
263:(1953).
255:(1964),
220:(1960).
212:(1939),
195:The Band
1163:(2000)
1107:Sources
919:"About"
502:Oakland
406:pigment
327:removed
312:sources
199:palette
1191:
1181:
1171:
1147:
1116:
1031:SFMOMA
1006:
976:askART
954:
836:
791:
764:
734:SFMOMA
719:(2015)
696:SFGate
673:
526:Racing
514:Picnic
436:; and
142:, and
119:, and
88:, and
214:Torso
1189:ISBN
1179:ISBN
1169:ISBN
1145:ISBN
1114:ISBN
1096:2018
1071:2018
1004:ISBN
983:2018
952:ISBN
931:2018
890:2018
865:2017
834:ISBN
789:ISBN
762:ISBN
741:2018
703:2018
671:ISBN
412:and
310:any
308:cite
547:at
500:in
321:by
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1222:,
1087:.
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333:(
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315:.
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