Adolph Gottlieb, born in 1903, was an American painter included in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists. He grew up in turbulent times, being born during the Great Depression, and experiencing the times between the two World Wars and the rise of Hitler. The trauma of this time greatly influenced the artist’s work, and still gives us insight into how to deal with and express trauma today.
Gottlieb was born in New York City and spent his entire life in the city. His parents intended for him to inherit his father’s stationery business, however, to their dismay, he developed a passion for art at an early age. He began taking art classes in high school and eventually dropped out of school to begin working as an artist.
Gottlieb joined the Art Students League where he was taught by some of the best-known American painters of that generation. In 1921, Gottlieb gained employment aboard a steamer that would take him to Paris. Here he extended his art education by immersing himself in the art traditions that abound in Paris. He traveled around Europe before returning to New York in 1922 to complete his studies.
His travels in Europe pushed the artist to blend what he had learned into a new style of his own. He was a staunch protester of the realism of American art, and his work became more abstract as the years went on. He is most well known for his use of pictographs and symbols from mythology to portray intense emotions through color and lines.
His most famous work is a collection known as Burst Paintings. This collection features orbs representing the sun above calligraphic symbols on a monotone background. Gottlieb continued to paint throughout his life, even after a stroke left the left side of his body paralyzed. He began a series of monotypes two weeks before his death in 1974.
1. Still Life – Dry Cactus
‘Still Life – Dry Cactus’ was created in the year 1938 By Adolph Gottlieb in Surrealism style.
2. A Palette Of Imagery
‘A Plate Of Imagery’ was created in the year 1944 by Adolph Gottlieb in Surrealism style.
3. Mariner’s Incantation
‘Mariner’s Incantation’ was created in the year 1945 by Adolph Gottlieb in Primitivism style.
4. Division
‘Division’ was created in the year 1948 by Adolph Gottlieb in Abstract Expressionism style.
5. Pink and Indian Red
‘Pink and Indian Red’ was created in the first of Adolph Gottlieb’s mature styles.
6. Augury
‘Augury’ was created in 1945 by Adolph Gottlieb in Naïve Art (Primitivism) style.
7. Movement East to West
‘Movement East to West’ was created in the year 1956 by Adolph Gottlieb in Abstract Expressionism style.
8. Rolling
‘Rolling’ was created in 1961 by Adolph Gottlieb in Abstract Expressionism style.