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Hans Hofmann Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

German, 1897-1957

The only artist of the New York school to participate directly in European modernism, Hans Hofmann became known as the major exponent of Abstract Expressionism.

Hans Hofmann paintings are known for their manic, exuberant energy. Among 20th-century masters, he was the first to consolidate and codify the lessons of modernism into a teaching system. Hofmann was also a widely influential art instructor with schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts. He was described by New York Times critic Clement Greenberg as "the most important teacher of our time" (Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art). Approximately six-thousand students studied modernist art with him, among the well-known names are Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Larry Rivers and Nell Blaine.

Hofmann was born in Weissenberg, Germany, showed a precocious interest in music and science, and had early training in mechanics while working for the Director of Public Works of Bavaria between 1896 and 1898. On that job, he invented the electromagnetic comptometer, the precursor of the adding machine.

Hofmann began to study art in 1898 in Munich where he was introduced to Impressionism. From 1904 to 1914, he studied in Paris and was exposed to many of the avant-garde artists and movements of that time including Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism. He was much taken with the exploration of pure color for its own sake, especially as investigated by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, and Delaunay. In Munich at the outbreak of World War I, he founded an art school and was highly successful until 1932 when he emigrated to America, having spent the summers in 1930 and 1931 teaching at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1932, he began teaching at the Arts Students League in New York and the following year opened his own schools in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

During the 1930s and 1940s, American Scene painting was prevalent, but Hofmann resisted that style, staying with the modernism to which he had been exposed in Europe. Hence he was later credited as a courageous pioneer in America of European modern art. He closed both of his schools in 1958 so he could devote himself full time to his own painting. He died in New York City in 1966.

Hofmann said he always based his paintings on the subject of nature, and he used vivid colors such as bright blues, greens oranges and yellows and applied them with palette knives in long slashing strokes. He viewed the surface of the canvas as alive, responsive, and active, often with opposing forces which he created with his theory of "push and pull," and which is closely tied to theories of Paul Cezanne. He also experimented with dripping paint onto the canvas, a method Jackson Pollock learned and later made famous.

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(Biography provided by Fine Art San Diego)

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Artist: Hans Hofmann
Composition in Blue (mid century modern Abstract Expressionist signed/N, Unique
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Hans Hofmann Composition in Blue, 1952 Color silkscreen with unique hand painted gouache additions Hand signed and numbered on the front in ink Published by Esther Gentle and 167 Gal...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Provincetown Drawing - Pen & Ink - 1942 - Massachusetts
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Title: "Provincetown Drawing" Medium: pen and ink on paper Dimensions: 14 x 16 3/4 inches Signed: Initialed and dated 1942 Provenance: Manny Silverman Gallery...
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1940s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Untitled
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Color crayons and ink on white wove paper. Initialed and dated "VI . 24 . 43" in ink, lower right recto, and annotated and dated in ink, verso. This work is registered in the record...
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1940s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Ink

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Hans Hofmann abstract drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Hans Hofmann abstract drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of abstract drawings and watercolors to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Hans Hofmann in ink, crayon, gouache and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Hans Hofmann abstract drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ben Hancocks, Sandra Phipps MacDiarmid, and Dorothy Gillespie. Hans Hofmann abstract drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $10,000 and tops out at $20,000, while the average work can sell for $17,500.

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