Lynne Drexler

Untitled (Dark)

1962

Southern-born Lynne Mapp Drexler found her artistic voice during one of the most exciting and significant art movements of the 20th century. Born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1928, Drexler began her study of art as a child. After attending the College of William and Mary, Drexler became interested in contemporary art. She was encouraged to explore this venue by her uncle, who had ties to the Hudson River School of painting. After moving to New York in 1956, Drexler immersed herself in the world of Abstract Expressionism studying with Hans Hofmann in both his Provincetown and New York schools. She eventually went on to study with Robert Motherwell, at Hunter College. His views on Abstract Expressionism guided Drexler's own process. Her academic training from Motherwell would set the foundation for the style of painting for which she is known. Drexler's swatch-like patterns and painterly blossoms of color are quite unique when compared to her contemporaries of the Abstract Expressionist genre. By 1961, Drexler would have her first solo show at the Tanager Gallery. In 1961, Drexler married painter John Hultberg, whom she met at the Artists Club. The couple was already integrated into the bohemian lifestyle of the New York art scene. To occasionally escape the pressures of New York, Hultberg's art dealer, Martha Jackson, bought him a house on Monhegan Island, Maine, which had a small summer art colony. ​These musically influenced sketches would also become incorporated into an entire Unlike her male counterparts, Drexler found it difficult finding gallery representation in the gender-biased atmosphere of the New York gallery world. Hultberg, on the other hand, was quite successful and was considered a talented up-and-comer as an abstract artist. The relationship between Drexler and Hultberg was often tumultuous and the couple would routinely separate throughout their lives. As the mid 1960s approached, the movement of Abstract Expressionism was coming to a closet. She would also lament that "[New York] was no longer a place of stimulation for me. I had no respect for most of the artists working there. They were out to make it. They had no commitment to art." Drexler was already making her own natural transition. to abstract landscape painting. Many of her paintings created just after 1962 are clearly inspired by the landscape with the concepts of musical elements helping to guide the pictorial arrangements. Unhappy with the male-dominated art system and art politics of New York, Drexler finally moved permanently to Monhegan Island in 1983. The remoteness and solitude of the island would impact her work. Her paintings often reflect the everyday routines of life such as views from her windows, interior views of her house and even chores such as hanging laundry. ​When Drexler was diagnosed with cancer her biggest fear was that she would have to die on shore. Her closest friends became her hospice care group. Drexler passed away in 1999 on Monhegan Island.