Robert Moskowitz
Encyclopedia
Robert Moskowitz is a contemporary American painter who was influenced by, among other movements, Abstract Expressionism
, and gained recognition in the 1960s onward for his paintings, drawings, and prints that work in the intersection between Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Pop Art
.
He was influenced in his early career by such eminent artists as Jasper Johns
and Robert Rauschenberg
.
Although his work has been described as a "significant link between the Abstract Expressionism of the New York School and the "New Image Abstraction" painters of the mid-1970s," Moskowitz has received relatively little public attention and never achieved the level of fame that many of his peers have.
for work. He showed little artistic capability as a child, but enrolled after school at the Mechanics Institute of Manhattan to pursue engineering drafting. In 1956 he began studying at the Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn where he studied under Adolph Gottlieb
.
Moskowitz traveled to Europe in 1959, where he met British collage and assemblage artist Gwyther Irwin
. At Irwin's suggestion, Moskowitz moved into an artist's community outside of London
where he was able to purchase his first studio space for $85.00, which allowed him to remain in London for one year.
, Moskowitz began to place intact objects, such as the window shade, directly on his paintings as a form of collage. This work was included in the exhibition Art of Assemblage
organized in 1961 at the Museum of Modern Art
which also featured the work of Picasso, George Braque, Joseph Cornell
, and Robert Rauschenberg
among many other influential artists. His work of this period, primarily untitled collage paintings, culminated in a solo exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery
in 1962, in between solo exhibitions of Roy Lichtenstein
and Frank Stella
.
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, and gained recognition in the 1960s onward for his paintings, drawings, and prints that work in the intersection between Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
.
He was influenced in his early career by such eminent artists as Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
and Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
.
Although his work has been described as a "significant link between the Abstract Expressionism of the New York School and the "New Image Abstraction" painters of the mid-1970s," Moskowitz has received relatively little public attention and never achieved the level of fame that many of his peers have.
Early life
In 1948, Robert Moskowitz, son of Louis and Lily Moskowitz, was left to care for their youngest daughter, Karen, after his father left the family and his mother was forced to make occasional trips to FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for work. He showed little artistic capability as a child, but enrolled after school at the Mechanics Institute of Manhattan to pursue engineering drafting. In 1956 he began studying at the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn where he studied under Adolph Gottlieb
Adolph Gottlieb
Adolph Gottlieb was an American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor and graphic artist.-Biography:Gottlieb was born in New York to Jewish parents. From 1920-1921 he studied at the Art Students League of New York, after which he traveled in France and Germany for a year...
.
Moskowitz traveled to Europe in 1959, where he met British collage and assemblage artist Gwyther Irwin
Gwyther Irwin
Gwyther Irwin was a British abstract artist born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, who had lived much of his life in north Cornwall. He was educated in Dorset, at Goldsmith's College and at the Central School of Art in London 1951-1954. Irwin first came to prominence in 1957 with an exhibition at...
. At Irwin's suggestion, Moskowitz moved into an artist's community outside of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he was able to purchase his first studio space for $85.00, which allowed him to remain in London for one year.
Early Work, Rise to Fame (1959-1963)
Moskowitz's first serious body of paintings came from the discovery of a window shade hanging high in his studio space. Following lessons taken from Johns, Rauschenberg, and Marcel DuchampMarcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, Moskowitz began to place intact objects, such as the window shade, directly on his paintings as a form of collage. This work was included in the exhibition Art of Assemblage
Assemblage (art)
Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects...
organized in 1961 at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
which also featured the work of Picasso, George Braque, Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell was an American artist and sculptor, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage...
, and Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
among many other influential artists. His work of this period, primarily untitled collage paintings, culminated in a solo exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery
Leo Castelli
Leo Castelli was an American art dealer. He was best known to the public as an art dealer whose gallery showcased cutting edge Contemporary art for five decades...
in 1962, in between solo exhibitions of Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
and Frank Stella
Frank Stella
Frank Stella is an American painter and printmaker, significant within the art movements of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction.-Biography:...
.