Page 54 - Studio International - February 1965

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several others. achieved in a single generation what a
history of hopes had been unable to achieve: an
indigenous art. an art distinct from all that had preceded
it. and germane to all that will succeed it. To a genera­
tion prepared only for destruction these artists symbol­
ized a resurrection of hope and of vitality.
But ultimately what is significant about the Grossman
Collection is its consistency of quality. Donald and
Isabelle Grossman acknowledge three major influences
in the development of their taste: Leonide Massine.
who first introduced them to the world of art and
artists. Arshile Gorky, whose passion for seeing is
today legendary. and Harriet Janis. whose sensitivity
to all that is genuinely valid in contemporary art was
unfailing during her lifetime. It is difficult to contemplate

shown such a disparate crew. never before so many such a battery of mentors. At the same time. the
Americans. And never such vigour. Grossmans. themselves. are quite wonderful to behold.
It was the crucial moment in American art and it was There is a quality present which is more than acumen.
a moment to which the Grossmans responded. It was more profound than enthusiasm. grander than taste. It
that unique and happy occasion when a direction in is ineffable and it is confident.
art and a taste in art coincided absolutely. Mrs. Gross­ Consider Kline's 'King Oliver.' Franz Kline's reputation
man describes it as a moment that needed no is based on the powerful black and white oils that
rationalizing and no intellectualizing-it was simply seemed to reduce all painting to pure essence. The
1 ( or complexly) a matter of immediate and profound force of gesture. the structural strength. the immediacy
Morris Hirshfield response. To respond is one thing. to act on one's that marked his work earned him a particular kind of
Opera Cape, 1 941 convictions is quite another. The Grossmans' willing­ immortality among his admirers. 'Park Rosenberg' is
40 X 28 in. ness and ability to do both has its palpable result: one typical of his art at its peak and the Grossmans cherish
of the world's most distinguished collections of it. But 'King Oliver' took a special kind of courage to
2 Abstract Expressionist painting. buy. Kline. himself. seldom chanced paintings like
Willem deKooning
Woman IX. 1961 For those of us who came of age. artistically at least. 'Oliver.' In it he used a full palette. What is more. he
28½ X 22 in. at about that time. the catalogue of the Grossmans' abandoned the swift two-dimensional trajectories
paintings alone is enough to make us swoon. Gorky, that translated walls into endless barriers. Here was
3 Pollock. Kline. deKooning. Rothko. Motherwell. Guston Kline in another mood-a mood that required a
Franz Kline 1910-1962 to mention only a few. constitute something of a deeper, gentler space. The brush. turned ever so
Turbin. 1959
112½ X 78 1n. pantheon of American art. These are the men who. with slightly, the density placed left of centre. the primary
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