Cubism and Abstract ArtMarch 2-April 19, 1936. This groundbreaking exhibition was key to establishing the pedigree for modern art proposed by Museum of Modern Art Founding Director Alfred H. Barr, Jr.—a narrative that continues to shape the Museum’s presentation of modernism to this day. In the introduction to the catalogue, Barr declared that the day’s most adventurous artists “had grown bored with painting facts. By a common and powerful impulse they were driven to abandon the imitation of natural appearance.” To demonstrate the breadth of this modernist impulse toward abstraction, Barr assembled a wide-ranging exhibition of nearly 400 works of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, architecture, furniture, theater design, and typography. He also drew up a now-famous diagram of the origins and influences of modern art that was reproduced on the catalogue’s dust jacket.
Take a quick tour through the history of abstract art and take in some unexpected pioneers along the way
From December 23, 2012 through April 15, 2013, the Museum of Modern Art (also known as “MoMA”) organized an exhibit about the birth and subsequent evolution of Abstract Art. In’/’ addition to the in-person exhibit was the online exhibition that exists to the present day. The interactive website provides a seemingly endless amount of links to the early abstract artists as well as famous works by these artists.
March 2-April 19, 1936. This groundbreaking exhibition was key to establishing the pedigree for modern art proposed by Museum of Modern Art Founding Director Alfred H. Barr, Jr.—a narrative that continues to shape the Museum’s presentation of modernism to this day. In the introduction to the catalogue, Barr declared that the day’s most adventurous artists “had grown bored with painting facts. By a common and powerful impulse they were driven to abandon the imitation of natural appearance.” To demonstrate the breadth of this modernist impulse toward abstraction, Barr assembled a wide-ranging exhibition of nearly 400 works of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, architecture, furniture, theater design, and typography. He also drew up a now-famous diagram of the origins and influences of modern art that was reproduced on the catalogue’s dust jacket.