Items Similar to 'Shoe-In', Paris, New York Abstraction, ASL, Arshile Gorky, Woman Artist
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 16
Michael Corinne West'Shoe-In', Paris, New York Abstraction, ASL, Arshile Gorky, Woman ArtistCirca 1965
Circa 1965
$5,500
£4,138.63
€4,784.57
CA$7,766.16
A$8,420.79
CHF 4,468.81
MX$103,712.73
NOK 55,388.13
SEK 52,273.66
DKK 35,713.23
About the Item
Signed lower left, 'Corinne West' for Michael Corinne West (American, 1908-1991) and painted circa 1965. Titled, verso, 'Red, White and Grey' and inscribed, 'Shoe-In'.
Corinne Michelle (Michael) West occupies a singular position in the history of American abstraction, bridging the New York School’s formative years with a fiercely independent sensibility. Born in Chicago and raised in Ohio, she studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before transferring her ambitions to painting and entering the Cincinnati Art Academy in the late 1920s. By 1932 she had moved to New York, enrolling at the Art Students League where she studied with John Sloan and, more crucially, with the German émigré Hans Hofmann. Hofmann’s rigorous formalism and insistence on the “push–pull” dynamic of color relationships proved decisive for her early development.
West’s formative European encounter came in 1933–34, when she traveled abroad, working briefly in France and absorbing both Cubism and Surrealist idioms then dominant in Paris. Back in New York she aligned herself with the small but growing circle of advanced modernists, exhibiting with the American Abstract Artists and maintaining close ties to Arshile Gorky, with whom she had both a personal and artistic relationship. At Gorky’s urging, she changed her professional name from “Corinne” to “Corinne Michelle West,” later signing works as “C. M. West” or “Michael West,” to avoid the era’s pervasive gender bias in exhibiting opportunities.
Through the 1940s West developed an increasingly gestural abstract vocabulary, exhibiting in New York galleries including the Norlyst Gallery and the Stable Gallery, and contributing to group shows that positioned her alongside Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock. Her canvases of this period bear the hallmarks of Abstract Expressionism—dynamic brushwork, layered chromatic veils, and an improvisatory rhythm—yet retained a lyrical clarity that critics often contrasted with the more forceful energies of her male peers. She also wrote extensively, producing essays and poetic texts on the nature of abstraction that parallel, in their rhetorical sweep, the theoretical manifestos of her contemporaries.
Although her career never reached the prominence of the canonical New York School figures, West exhibited steadily through the 1950s and 1960s, with solo exhibitions at the Uptown Gallery and inclusion in surveys of women artists and abstract painting. Her resilience in the face of institutional neglect reflected both the challenges of her gender and her unwillingness to compromise her vision for market acceptance. By the 1970s her work underwent a partial reappraisal, and she was included in exhibitions reevaluating women’s contributions to Abstract Expressionism. Posthumously, interest in her oeuvre has continued to grow, with exhibitions at the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, the Denver Art Museum, and galleries specializing in overlooked modernists.
Today Corinne Michael West is recognized as a pioneering American abstractionist whose life embodies both the triumphs and exclusions of the New York avant-garde. Her paintings, marked by a disciplined yet passionate engagement with color and form, stand as vital testimony to a woman artist who insisted on her place within the central current of twentieth-century modernism.
We are pleased to offer a vibrant figural work painted when this legendary American artist was in her fifties.
*Photos of the artist courtesy of the Collection of The Michael (Corinne) West Estate.
- Creator:Michael Corinne West (1908 - 1991, American)
- Creation Year:Circa 1965
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:minor restoration; unframed; shows well.
- Gallery Location:Santa Cruz, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU34416776932
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
Premium sellers maintaining a 4.3+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 1982
1stDibs seller since 2013
746 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Santa Cruz, CA
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View All'Action Abstract, Ivory & Saffron', Paris, National Association of Women Artists
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'M.S. Bremer' for Marlene Bremer (German-American, 1937-2018) and painted circa 1995. Additionally signed, verso, 'Marlene Bremer'.
Born and educated in Germany,...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'West Side, New York', Central Park, Manhattan Modernist Abstract, BMFA, Harvard
By Donald Stoltenberg
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'Stoltenberg' for Donald Hugo Stoltenberg (American, 1927-2016) and dated 1957. Titled, verso on original artist's label, 'West Side, New York'.
Provenance: Mr. & ...
Category
1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'Abstract Figural', Woman Artist, Art Institute of Chicago, San Bernardino
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, in graphite, 'Sue Gertz' for Suzanne Gertz (American, 1938-2003) and painted circa 1975.
Suzanne Gertz first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and, subsequ...
Category
1970s Modern Nude Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas, Charcoal
'Figurative Abstract', Woman Artist, Art Institute of Chicago, San Bernardino
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Stamped, verso, with certification of authenticity for Suzanne Gertz (American, 1938-2003) and painted circa 1985, partial signature lower right.
Suzanne Gertz first studied at the...
Category
1980s Modern Nude Paintings
Materials
Graphite, Acrylic, Canvas
'Abstract in Ochre, Rust and Jade', Mid-century Modernist American Woman Artist
By Dora Masters
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Stamped, verso, on canvas with certification of authenticity for Dora Masters (American, 1916-2003), bearing stamped wax seal and painted circa 1955.
Provenance: Acquired from the a...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'City Lights' San Francisco Beat Generation, Woman Artist, Bay Area Abstraction
By Joan Savo
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'City Lights' by Joan Savo, 1960.
San Francisco Beat Generation, Woman Artist, Bay Area Abstraction
-----
Signed lower right, 'Savo' for Joan Savo (American, 1918-1992) and dated 19...
Category
1960s Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
You May Also Like
Homage to Arshile Gorky - Oil on Canvas by G. Lo Fermo - 2020
By Giorgio Lo Fermo
Located in Roma, IT
Homage to Arshile Gorky is an original contemporary artwork realized by the Italian artist Giorgio Lo Fermo in 2020.
Original oil painting on canvas.
Hand-signed and dated on the ...
Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil
Abstract Expressionist Figurative Homage to Willem de Kooning
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract Expressionist Figurative Homage to Willem de Kooning's "Women Singing"
Colorful and dynamic abstract expressionist figurative mixed media painting contemporary piece, featu...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Magazine Paper, Stretcher Bars
$3,400 Sale Price
29% Off
Antique American School Female Artist Abstract Expressionist Cubist Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique modernist abstract painting by Elsie Orfuss (Born 1913). Oil on canvas. Signed on verso. Nicely framed.
`
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Petites Histories / oil on canvas
By Frédéric Choisel
Located in Burlingame, CA
A magnificant abstract painting that bridges figuration, Inspired by living in the cities of France, New York, and San Francisco. French American visual artist Frédéric Choisel tells...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Moldovan Contemporary Art by Doïna Vieru - Untitled
By Doïna Vieru
Located in Paris, IDF
Acrylic on canvas
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Cubist Abstract V, Contemporary Oil Painting by Female Artist Miriam Bromberg
By Miriam Bromberg
Located in Long Island City, NY
Cubist Abstract V
Miriam Bromberg
Oil on Canvas
Size: 18 x 46 in. (45.72 x 116.84 cm)
Category
1950s Cubist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
