1960s Abstract Paintings

Oli T. Sihvonen (1921 - 1991) The Secrets in the Circle, 1962 Oil on canvas 25 x 34 in Signed lower right; signed, titled dated, and inscribed "Box 563 Taos, N.M." on the reverse Pr...

Some say that life on earth may have first bubbled up from hot spots on the ocean floor, the Primordial Soup. Based on its title, “In the Beginning,” it’s likely that American artist...

Richard Andres (American, 1927-2013) Naval Occurrence, c. 1963 oil on canvas signed and titled verso 24 x 32 inches Richard Andres was born in Buffalo, New York in 1927. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1950, he was immediately drafted and served for two years in the army as a mural painter. He received his Master of Arts from Kent State in 1961. A frequent exhibitor at galleries and museums and winner of multiple May Show prizes, Andres taught art in the Cleveland Public Schools for 28 years, as well as teaching the University of Buffalo, the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Western Reserve University. Very little in Richard Andres’ childhood would have predicted his love of classical music, mid-century-modern architecture and certainly not his lifelong passion for art and in particular abstract art. Richard’s father, Raymond, had no more than a third-grade education, and his mother, Clara, was one of thirteen children – only three of whom lived into adulthood and none of whom attended high school. They lived, when Richard was a boy, in a dingy area of Buffalo, NY in a walk-up apartment situated above a tavern. Raymond and Clara supplemented the income from their factory jobs in the bar downstairs with Raymond playing ragtime on the piano and Clara serving drinks. This often left Richard and his two older brothers at home alone to fend for themselves. The two older boys, Raymond and Russell, were - unlike Richard- rather rough and tumble and entertained themselves with stickball, boxing and the like. Richard, on the other hand, from a very young age liked to draw, or better yet even, to paint with the small set of watercolors he received for Christmas one year. Paper, however, at the height of the depression, was hard to come by. Luckily, Clara used paper doilies as decoration for the apartment and Richard would contentedly paint and then cut up doilies, gluing the pieces together to create collages. At eight-years-old, he discovered the Albright-Knox Museum (then known as the Albright Art Gallery) and spent several hours a week there studying the paintings. He was particularly fond of Charles Burchfield‘s landscapes, enamored with their ‘messiness’ and thinking that they somehow captured more ‘feeling’ than works he was previously familiar with. For his tenth Christmas, he asked for and received a ‘how-to’ paint book by Elliot O’Hare. Through this self-teaching, he assembled the portfolio needed for acceptance to Buffalo Technical High School where he studied Advertising Arts. In his Junior year, he was encouraged to enter a watercolor painting, “Two Barns,” in the national 1944-45 Ingersoll Art Award Contest and was one of twelve grand prize winners – each one winning one hundred dollars. More importantly the painting was exhibited at the Carnegie Institute Galleries, which resulted in his winning a national scholarship to the Cleveland School of Art (The Cleveland Art Institute). He flourished at the art school under the tutelage of faculty members such as Carl Gaertner, as well as that of visiting artists such as William Sommer and Henry George Keller. He would say in later years that Gaertner, in particular, influenced his attitude toward life as well as art. “Gaertner,” Andres said, “believed that there was no need to be a ‘tortured artist’, that an artist should rather enjoy beauty, family, and life in general.” Free to spend his days as he chose, he wandered the Cleveland Art Museum for most of the hours he was not attending classes or painting; the remaining time was spent drinking coffee at a local hangout with art school friends – which is where he met fellow Henry Keller scholarship winner, Avis Johnson. Richard was immediately smitten with Avis, but being rather shy, it took him the entire summer of 1948 to build up his courage to ask her out. Over that summer he ‘thought about Avis’ and worked in a diner to save money. He also used the hundred-dollar prize money won in High School to visit the first Max Beckmann retrospective in the United States at the City Art Museum in St. Louis. Over a half century later he spoke of that exhibit with a reverence usually reserved for spiritual matters, “I walked in and it was like nothing I had ever seen before... the color...It just glowed.” Returning to campus in the Fall, the first thing he did was go to the coffee shop in hopes of finding Avis. He did, and she, upon seeing him, realized that she was also smitten with him. They quickly became known as ‘the couple’ on campus, and a year later, with Richard being drafted for the Korean war, they were quickly married by a Justice of the Peace, celebrating after with family at Avis’s Cleveland home. As a gift, faculty member John Paul Miller designed and made the simple gold wedding ring Avis wore for their 65 years of marriage. During those 65 years neither wavered in their mutual love, nor in the respect they shared for one another’s art. The couple lived in a converted chicken coop in Missouri while Richard was in boot camp. At the camp, he would volunteer for any job offered and one of those jobs ended up being painting road signs. His commander noticed how quickly and neatly he worked and gave him more painting work to do - eventually recommending him for a position painting murals for Army offices in Panama. Until her dying day, Avis remained angry that “The army got to keep those fabulous murals and they probably didn’t even know how wonderful they were.” In Panama, their first son, Mark, was born. After Richard’s discharge in 1953, they moved back to the Cleveland area and used the GI bill to attend Kent State gaining his BA in education. The small family then moved briefly to Buffalo, where Richard taught at the Albright Art School and the University of Buffalo – and their second son, Peter, was born. Richard had exhibited work in the Cleveland May Show and the Butler Art Museum during his art school years, and during the years in Buffalo, his work was exhibited at the gallery he had so loved as a child, the Albright Art Gallery. In 1956, the family moved back to the Cleveland area and Richard began teaching art at Lincoln West High School during the day while working toward his MA in art at Kent State in the evenings. Avis and Richard, with the help of an architect, designed their first home - a saltbox style house in Hudson, Ohio, and in 1958, their third son, Max (after Max Beckmann) was born. Richard enjoyed the consistency of teaching high school as well as the time it gave him to paint on the weekends and during the summer months. In 1961, he received his MA and his daughter, Claire, was born. With a fourth child, the house was much too small, and Avis and Richard began designing their second home. An admirer of MCM architecture, Richard’s favorite example of the style was the Farnsworth house – he often spoke of how the concepts behind this architectural style, particularly that of Mies van der Rohe, influenced his painting. Andres described himself as a 1950’s...

An original mixed media painting and collage on board by American artist James Koenig. Created in 1970, this work is part of the Draw Near exhibition currently on view at Benjaman G...

Vintage signed modernist seascape painting by Gabriel Godard (Born 1933). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Housed in a wide giltwood frame. Thick impasto and wonderful colors. I...

Voile N.3 is an original artwork realized by the Italian contemporary artist Marisa Busanel (1933-1990) in 1968. Mixed media artwork on panel (collage ...

Impressive early American modernist abstract expressionist oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas.

Edward Zutrau Untitled, 1963 Signed and dated on stretcher verso "5/63" Oil on canvas 8 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches Edward Zutrau is among the American artists who worked within the whirlw...

Signed center right, 'Ide' for Tom Ide (Canadian-American, 1919-1996) and dated 1965. Exhibited: Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco, circa 1965. Ide studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (1951-1955) and moved to San Francisco in 1960, where he became a notable exponent of Bay Area abstract expressionism. He exhibited with success including at Maxwell Galleries (1964 solo), where the present piece was exhibited. Tom Ide's work was included in the 2021 exhibit “East/West Abstraction: Asian American Artists...

This very striking exhibited Scottish Abstract oil painting is by influential Scottish artist Jack Knox. Painted in 1964, it is a vivid mix of autumnal colours, textures and brushwork that work perfectly. A brilliant example of his work from the early sixties and which was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1965. Titled and dated 21.2.64 lower right. Provenance. Exhibited Royal Scottish Academy, Exhibition 1965, Edinburgh. Condition. Oil on canvas, 51 inches by 36 inches unframed and in good condition. Housed in a gilt sixties surround frame, 53 inches by 38 inches framed and in good condition. Jack Knox RSA (1936-2015) was one of the most influential artists to work in Scotland in the second half of the twentieth century. Born John Knox to a family of tailors in Kirkintilloch, Knox studied at the Glasgow School of Art (1953-57) where his drawings were noted for their mature draughtsmanship. After graduating, Knox went to Paris to attend the atelier of Cubist artist, André L’Hȏte. During his time in Europe Knox digested the various art movements of the moment, including Surrealism, Tachisme, Colour Field and Pop Art. Visiting the great museums, he was particularly interested in Analytic Cubism and Georges Braque’s intimation, rather than description, of object. He also went to Brussels to visit the first major show of American Abstract Expressionism in Europe. He returned to Scotland eager to establish his own style, drawing on everything he had seen in Europe. In 1960 the Glasgow Herald presented an exhibition during the Edinburgh Festival of young artists from the west of Scotland. Knox was selected to show alongside George Devlin, Carole Gibbons, Anda Patterson, Douglas Abercrombie and Duncan...

Amazing surreal cloudscape modernist oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas.

Red Optical Composition is an original artwork realized by the Italian contemporary master, Carlo Montesi in 1966. In good conditions. Tempera, oil pai...

A modern abstract geometric oil painting by American female artist Irene Zevon who lived and worked in the Chelsea Hotel in the 1950's and 1960's.

An original mid century modern abstract expressionist painting by American artist Toma Yovanovich. Toma Yovanovich (1931-2016) was a painter/printmaker whose work is in collect...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Cicada, c. 1960s Watercolor on scintilla 30 x 20 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that wa...

Pierre MONTHEILLET (1923-2011) Composition in yellow Watercolor and gouache on paper Signed lower left Dimensions of the work: 50 x 65 cm Dimensions of the frame: 60 x 80 cm Pierre ...

Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 ) 15 X 8.5 Oil paint on wood panel This is not signed on front. It bears his name verso. Provenance: Hudson, N.Y. estate of noted Art Collector Albert B...

Syril Frank (American, 1929-2021) Untitled, c. 1963 Oil on canvas 44 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. Syril Harriet Frank was born in Brooklyn to Israel and Mina Kaplan. ...

Vintage American modernist abstract landscape painting. Oil on canvas. Framed in a great gold leaf molding. Impressive piece in person!

Striking mid century modern abstract with black, brown and orange by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century). Signed "Kimball" lower right. Unframed. Image size: 36"H x 36"W.

Mid Century Textural Color-Field Abstract in Royal Blue-Purple by Peter Witwer A striking mid-century textural color-field abstract in a bold color palette of royal blue-purple by San Francisco artist Peter Witwer (American, 1928-1968). This highly textured mixed media piece, c.1960's, uses a monochromatic palette that is divided into two areas of varying textural depths. The lower part of the canvas verges on sculptural, as the textured surface becomes almost three-dimensional and haunting forms emerge from the abstract purple-blue plane. Unsigned. From a collection of the artist's works. Displayed in a painted wood slate frame. Frame has been painted by the artist and is considered part of the artwork. Linen size: 26"H x 22"W. Framed size: 27"H x 23"W x 1.2"D Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Provenance: Without a will and a family that had little interest in his art, nearly all of his possessions and close to 100 paintings were turned over to SF’s Conservators Office. His friend, Albert Richard Lasker, purchased all of Peter’s possessions (including the art) and has taken care of them until this day, always sensing there was something remarkable about the collection. Wanting Peter’s work to finally be seen, Richard came to Lost Art Salon with Peter’s story after reading about the new gallery in a July, 2005 issue of the SF Chronicle. Born George Peter...

"Signals, Orange/Black" is an original oil on masonite painting by Bernard Arnest (1917-1986), created in 1962. This striking piece is signed by Arnest in the lower center and titled...

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Acrylic on canvas. Signed, dated, and titled verso. 62.25 x 62.25 in. 63.75 x 63.5 in. (framed) Custom framed in a maple floater with a polyurethane clear coat finish. Provenance MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada Private Collection, Lancaster, PA Exhibited "," June 2, 2003-July 15, 2004, The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Canada. Publications "Kenneth Lochhead: Garden of Light...

Hand signed by the artist lower right. Very good conditions. Certificate of authenticity of the Artist on the photograph.

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Icon Mandala, 1967 Acrylic on paper Signed and dated lower right 30 x 22 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national ...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Neon Ovoids, c. 1960s Acrylic on paper 9 x 12 inches Mid-Century Abstract neon orange, green, pink acrylic painting. Clarence Holbroo...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Rockefeller Center, 1962 Acrylic and sand on scintilla Signed and dated lower left 25 x 20 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a ...

Nicely painted mid century hard edge abstract by Gabrielle Roos. Oil on canvas. Signed verso.

Roy Conn (1931–2018) 'Grater', 1968 23.5 x 41.0 cm Frame: 43.0 x 59.5 cm Painter, born in London. Trained as a structural engineer, he was mainly self-taught...

Artist: C. Stone Title: Accent Marks Year: circa 1960 Medium: Acrylic and Sand on Canvas, Signed l.l. Size: 30 x 36 inches (76 x 91.5 cm)

Pierre MONTHEILLET (1923-2011) Composition in green and yellow Watercolor and gouache on paper Signed lower left Dimensions of the work: 50 x 65 cm Dimensions of the frame: 60 x 80 c...

Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 ) 17.5 X 8.75 Oil paint on wood panel This is not signed on front. It bears his name verso. Provenance: Hudson, N.Y. estate of noted Art Collector Alber...

Syril Frank (American, 1929-2021) Untitled, c. 1963 Oil on canvas 44 x 48 in. Provenance: Estate of the Artist Syril Harriet Frank was born in Brooklyn t...

An original oil and spray paint on paper by Denis Bowen who played an important role in the Post War British art movement. This simple yet stunning work dates to 1962. Signed and dated verso. Provenance. Northern collection. Condition. Oil and spray paint on paper. Image size 26 inches by 18 inches and in fine gallery condition. Housed in a simple black gallery frame in excellent condition, 28 inches by 20 inches. Denis Bowen (1921-2006) was a South African artist, gallery director and promoter of abstract and avant-garde art in Britain. He was founder of the New Vision Group and the New Vision Centre Gallery, both of which played an important role in the post-World War II British art scene. Denis Bowen was born on 5 April 1921 in Kimberley, South Africa. His father was Welsh and his mother English. After being orphaned at a young age, Bowen moved to England where he was raised by his aunt in Huddersfield. He enrolled at the Huddersfield School of Art in 1936. After serving in the Navy in World War II, Bowen resumed his art studies at the Royal College of Art in London in 1946. Between 1940 and 1986 Bowen taught art at numerous institutions including: the Kingston Institute of Art, Hammersmith School of Art, Birmingham School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design, the Royal College of Art and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 1951 Bowen founded the New Vision Group, which initially emerged from meetings and displays that he organised with his students in 1951. In 1955, Bowen worked alongside Frank Avray Wilson and Halima Nalecz...

A dreamy and expertly painted abstraction by this noted American/Asian artist. Presented in a contemporary and high quality silvered leaf float frame which allows it to breath. Wave of Ur...

Artist: Oskar Maria D'Amico, Italian (1923 - 2003) Title: Untitled Year: 1967 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed Size: 66 x 48 in. (167.64 x 121.92 cm)

A substantial, mid-century American School oil abstract comprising adjacent and overlapping rectangular and geometric forms in shades of amethyst, emer...

Dynamic abstract landscape painting in the San Francisco Bay Area Abstract Expressionist School-style by an unknown California artist (American, 20th Century), c.1965. Unframed. Imag...

Really impressive mid 1900s American school painting of Central Park. An amazing piece with hints of abstraction. Framed. No signature found.

Red's Moving OIl on canvas, 24" x 32" 25.75" x 34" x 1.75" framed Signed "V. Wicht" lower right. Inscribed and titled verso "John Von Wicht / Red's Moving / 24 x 32 / 1962". About t...

"Nightgale" Birds Fly in a Surreal Still Life in a Blue Landscape Surreal landscape by Kennard M. Harris (American, b-1930). A table is set with a broken glass and surreal objects, becoming a landscape; roiling clouds lurk nearby as a flock of Nightingales fly in the distance. Kennard Studied art at the Art Center School in Los Angeles Signed with his Monogam lower left The Hammer Galleries ink stamp on paper backing and title "Nightgale #62, a label 14. Nightgale on board. Possibly indication of a number of paintings exhibited at the Hammer Galleries. Image, 24.5"H x 20"W Frame, 27.5"H x 23"W x 1.5"D EXHIBITED: Hammer Galleries, New York, 1962 First: San Diego, Orr's Gallery, Kennard Harris...

Signed lower right, 'V. Wicht' for John Von Wicht (German-American, 1888-1970) and painted circa 1965. Born in Germany, this abstract expressionist painter, muralist, printmaker, mo...

Diana Kurz Studio Interior, 1964 Signed, titled, dated on verso Oil on canvas 52 x 72 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's fami...

This painting is a perfect example of lyrical abstraction and a choice painting out of the best period of Vlerick's career. Pierre Vlerick’s work shows...

This stunning abstract expressionist oil on canvas is by artist Helen M Hale. Painted in the 1960's this abstract landscape has strong brushwork and blocks of colour. Labelled verso...

Gouache on paper. Signed in pencil, lower right corner.

Syril Frank (American, 1929-2021) Untitled, 1963 Oil on canvas 50 1/4 x 48 x 3/4 in. Dated verso: June 1963 Provenance: Estate of the Artist Syril Harrie...

Gene Hedge Untitled, 1966 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 43 inches (P276) Gene Hedge was born (1928) and raised in rural Indiana. After military service, he briefly attended Ball State Univ...

Syril Frank (American, 1929-2021) Untitled, c. 1963 Oil on canvas 40 1/8 x 48 in. Provenance: Estate of the Artist Syril Harriet Frank was born in Brookl...

Blue Navy Abstract, Size: 31x36.5 framed 32x37.7 Walter Swyrydenko was born in Sloviansk, Ukraine in 1942. A graduate of Kent State University, receiving a B.S. in Art Education and an M.A. in Painting. Studied in Paris, France. Professor of Art at Lakeland Community College. He was awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus in 2002 by Lakeland Community College, and held a retrospective of his work, "A Look Back 1965-2001," at the LCC Gallery in 2003. Listed in Marquis’ “Who’s Who Dictionary of International Biography,” “ Leaders of America,” “Who’s Who in the Arts, 1971-1972,” Artists/USA, 1972-1973, 1974-1975,” “Outstanding Young Men of America,”1971,” International Who’s Who in Art and Antiques, 1972,” Annuaire De L’Art International, 1974-1975, 1975-1976,” “Library Of Human Resources...

"Abstraction" Mid 20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field James Daugherty (1887 – 1974) Abstraction 16 x 12 inches Estate stamp verso Oil on panel Provenance: Estate of t...

Artist: Willering Epko, French (1928 - ) Title: Untitled Year: circa 1950 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 15 in. x 18 in. (38.1 cm x 45.72 cm)

Black and white abstract figurative painting by Polish-Australian artist, Stacha Halpern. This painting depicts large, thick, and bold black and white strokes accentuated by reds, bl...

Ralph Rosenborg (American, 1913-1992) "American Landscape, Sky and Shore, 1973" Oil on canvas. Signed 'Rosenborg' (lower right). Titled (verso). 30 x 40 in Ralph Rosenborg (1913–1992) was an American artist whose paintings were described as both expressionist and abstract and who was a colleague of the New York Abstract Expressionists in the 1940s and 1950s. Unlike them, however, he preferred to make small works and tended to explicitly draw upon natural forms and figures for his abstract subjects. Called a "highly personal artist," he developed a unique style that was considered to be both mystical and magic. His career was exceptionally long, covering more than 50 years. Rosenborg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 9, 1913. In 1929, while he was a high school student, he began to work with the designer, artist, and instructor, Henriette Reiss. When Rosenborg encountered her, Reiss was serving as an instructor for the School Art League in the American Museum of Natural History. She was then engaged in instructing both students and their teachers in the city school system by a method she called Rhythmic Design. She believed inspiration for abstract designs could be found in rhythms—rhythms that could be perceived in ordinary perceptions much as they are when listening to music. In May 1930 Reiss selected a drawing by Rosenborg to be shown in an exhibition of creative design by City high school students. From 1930 to 1933, aged 17 to 20, Rosenborg studied with Reiss in what Vivien Raynor of the New York Times called a "pupil-apprentice" relationship. During this time she instructed him in music appreciation, literature, and art history as well as giving technical training in art. In April 1934 Rosenborg was one of 1,500 artists to participate in the annual Salons of America exhibition, which was held that year in Rockefeller Center RCA Building. Each paid two dollars for the privilege of hanging up to three works and none was given prominence over the others. The New York Times reported that by the time the show closed a month later, some 30,000 people had viewed it. The following year he was given a solo exhibition (his first) at the Lounge Gallery of the Eighth Street Playhouse. The year after that he participated in a group show held by the Municipal Art Committee and in 1937 was given a second solo exhibition, this time in the Artists Gallery. That year he also became a founding member of and participated in a group show held by American Abstract Artists, a loose assembly of artists that aimed to promote abstract art and artists in New York. Its founders included Josef Albers, Ilya Bolotowsky, Werner Drewes, Ibram Lassaw, Mercedes Matter, Louis Schanker, Vaclav Vytlacil and Rudolph Weisenborn. At roughly the same time Rosenborg associated himself with a group of abstractionists that called itself "The Ten" (It included Ben-Zion, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb and Joe Solman) and in May 1938 joined with its other members in what would be his first appearance in a commercial gallery: the Gallery Georgette Passedoit. In 1938 he his work appeared in a group show at the Lounge Gallery, in 1939 in group shows at the Artists Gallery and at the Bonestell Gallery with David Burliuk, Earl Kerkam, Karl Knaths and Jean Liberte...

Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 ) 7.5 X 5.75 Oil paint on wood panel This is not signed on front. It bears his name verso. Provenance: Hudson, N.Y. estate of noted Art Collector Albert...

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right; signed, dated, and titled verso. 38.25 x 51.25 in. 39.75 x 52....

Untitled painting of a group of men by Antonio Rodríguez Luna (1910-1985.) This moody piece by Antonio Rodríguez Luna is an excellent example of his work from the early 1960s, which...

Mid century modern abstract by artist Tommie (Thomas) Olson a student of Robert Preusser, when he was 16 and attending John Deagan High School in Houst...

Untitled (43) Hanna Eshel, Israeli (1926) Date: 1965 Oil and Assemblage on Burlap, signed and dated verso Size: 39 x 31 in. (99.06 x 78.74 cm) Frame Size: 45 x 37 inches

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right; signed, titled, dated verso. 48 x 60 in. 49.75 x 61.75 in. (framed) Custom framed in a solid maple floater, with an heirloom white finish. Provenance Kootz Gallery, New York Collection of John G. and Kimiko Powers, New York/Aspen, CO Prentice-Hall Corporate Art Collection, New York Kyle Morris was born in Des Moines, IA in 1918. After serving in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, he completed M.F.A. programs at both Northwestern and Cranbrook Academy of Art before settling in New York and renting a studio on Mercer Street in downtown Manhattan during the 1950s. Transitioning away from the figurative painting of his formal training, he began to create the bold gestural works that would serve as his hallmark in the ever-growing fraternity of the New York School. Morris’ first major solo exhibition occurred at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1952. This show served as the catalyst for his recruitment onto the rosters of the prominent Stable and Kootz galleries in New York. In 1961, he was included in the Guggenheim’s landmark exhibition, American Abstract Expressionists and Imagists, which surveyed the abstract expressionist movement that would come to dominate contemporary American art...