During her time there, she lamented the lack of a vibrant artistic community, and in 1928, when she was in her twenties, she decided to move to New York City. In her own time, she would often go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to copy her favorite painters: Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Fine obliged, making a copy of the original and one that interpreted what Mondrian's final intentions for the painting might have been. When she graduated from high school, she was set on having a career as an artist. Perle Fine may be one of the best know New York Abstract Expressionists you don't know much about. Limited-Edition Prints by Leading Artists, Accordment Series #4 (Shimmering Faintly), 1977, The Rising Market for Women Abstract Expressionists, How Artist-Run Galleries Shaped New York’s Downtown Art Scene, 11 Female Abstract Expressionists Who Are Not Helen Frankenthaler. Perle Fine - Abstract Expressionist Art - PerleFine.Com " I never thought of myself as a student or teacher, but as a painter. Content compiled and written by Marley Treloar, Edited and revised, with Summary and Accomplishments added by Valerie Hellstein. In the new, more rural environment she continued to develop her practice, experimenting more liberally with color and form. When Hans Hofmann moved his art school in 1938 just down the street from Fine's apartment, Fine took the opportunity to enroll and spent her time exploring non-objective painting. A catalog of the show is available on the Publications page. Fine broke with Hofmann's theories and sought to find her own, more calm and contemplative mode of expression. Clearly a determined individual, Perle Fine became a major figure of the post-war era. In 1939, she began working with Hans Hofmann, both in New York and at his summer school in Provincetown, MA. Fine’s artistic training began in her teens, when she studied illustration and graphic design; she also studied with Kimon Nicolaides, Hans Hofmann , … In 1960, Fine was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, and in 1961 she became a professor at nearby Hofstra University, where she taught until 1973. Fine often sought Hofmann's advice if she was having trouble with a composition. Never settling on a single style, unlike many of her male peers, may have hampered Fine's notoriety, but also chauvinistic gallery owners often refused to show female painters at this time. None of her other siblings were artists, but her sister was a pianist and encouraged her creativity. All Rights Reserved |. [Internet]. She had more than 30 solo exhibitions and countless group showings and is represented in numerous museum and private collections. This later work returned to the grid, evoking the works of Agnes Martin, an artist Fine greatly admired, and re-embraced her earlier lessons gleaned from Mondrian. After 1970 she focused her efforts on a series of spare, elegant geometric works called Accordments.Fine remained active in the arts throughout her life, teaching at Cornell University and Hofstra University. Fine's enthusiasm for teaching and her influence on her students can be seen through artists such as Pat Lipsky, a geometric abstract painter who attended Cornell University and sites Abstract Expressionism as a significant inspiration. The show traveled and a major book has been published by Yale University Press. I never knew how poor we were." She was one of the first women to be admitted to the Artist's Club and, considering the social culture of this era, this was no small feat. Though she considers herself foremost a painter, Fine also experimented with etching, collage, and drawing. Reflecting on her wide-ranging education, Fine recalled "I felt that one should have a grounding in academic painting; at least one had to know what it was in order to overcome it. Also, while her work can be found in several museum collections, mu… In 1954, having become disillusioned with the art world, she moved to Springs, a small hamlet near East Hampton on the south fork of Long Island and home to artists such as Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock. Perle Fine was an American painter known for her expressive abstract works. Here she met artists like Piet Mondrian, Josef Albers, Irene Rice Pereia, and Ad Reinhardt. Fine’s artistic training began in her teens, when she studied illustration and graphic design; she also studied with Kimon Nicolaides, Hans Hofmann, Robert Blackburn, and Pruett Carter. Her education began in her native Boston before she enrolled at the Art Students League in 1935 and fell under the influence of Piet Mondrian. The collector Emily Tremaine recognized that Fine had absorbed Mondrian's teaching and asked her to make two interpretations of Mondrian's final, unfinished painting, Victory Boogie Woogie (Mondrian died in 1944). One of the first women to join The Club, she was a vital part of the New York art scene in the early 1950's, but over the decades she fell into obscurity. Absorbing his academic approach and insistence on spontaneity, Fine commented that during this time the most important thing she learnt was "what three-dimensional painting really was...actually trying to do it in his method, which was using brown wrapping paper and painting with black and white oil on that to the point where the figure almost looked like sculpture coming out of the wall.". It was during this time when she met fellow student Maurice Berezov, who became a photographer and who she married in 1930. Perle Fine was an Abstract Expressionist who produced works in multiple modes of abstraction during the 50 years of her prolific career. She continued her illustration and design studies when she enrolled in the Grand Central School of Art, where her work won first prize for illustration in 1930. Perle Fine was an Abstract Expressionist who produced works in multiple modes of abstraction during the 50 years of her prolific career. One of six children, Perle Fine was born near Boston in 1905, shortly after her parents emigrated from Russia. She remembered, "We had a marvellous childhood. Fine's interest in art started at an early age, making posters and winning small prizes through her time in grammar school. Like many of her colleagues who also taught, Fine said, "I never thought of myself as a student or teacher, but as a painter." ©2020 The Art Story Foundation. In 2016 she was included in the ground breaking exhibition "Women of Abstract Expressionism" organized by Gwen Chanzit at the Denver Art Museum. Her father was a dairy farmer, and while not in school, she helped out doing chores around the farm and house. We always had lots to eat, lots of fresh good milk, cream, cheese, butter, everything. “Color is always a motivation. Perle Fine may be one of the best know New York Abstract Expressionists you don't know much about. Through her studies Fine had become familiar with Mondrian's theories of Neo-Placticism, but through their friendship and Fine's studio visits, she came to know more about Neo-Plasticism first hand. Also, while her work can be found in several museum collections, much of it found its way to private collectors, and the majority of it has never been seen by a broader public. Fine's career as a practicing artist spanned over 50 years, and she exhibited her work regularly from 1943 onwards. Please email tom@thomasmccormick.com to schedule a visit. A traveling museum retrospective was organized in 2009 by Hofstra University where Fine had taught. In an effort to hone her skills, Fine spent hours visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, copying works by artist she admired like Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin. Her work was also included in the infamous Ninth Street Exhibition in 1951 that brought more public attention to the group of downtown artists. Fine's career as a practicing artist spanned over 50 years, and she exhibited her work regularly from 1943 onwards. In the early 1940's, Fine's work began to gain recognition and was promoted by Hilla Rebay at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (later the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum) as a young upcoming talent; she received a Guggenheim Foundation Grant and exhibited her work at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery.