The Promise

1947

A mature style and a declaration on art’s content

Reaches his mature style — in 1946–1947 he paints “The Command” and “The Euclidean Abyss” — and declares that any art worthy of the name must address “life”, “man”, “nature”, “death” and “tragedy”.

1947

Death of his father

His father, Abraham, dies; two years later his name will be given to one of Newman’s darkest paintings.

1948

The Subjects of the Artist school

With William Baziotes, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and David Hare he founds the Subjects of the Artist School at 35 East 8th Street; its well-attended public lectures feature speakers such as Jean Arp, John Cage and Ad Reinhardt.

spring 1949

The Subjects of the Artist school closes

The Subjects of the Artist School fails financially and closes in the spring of 1949.

1950

First solo exhibition and crushing reviews

Stages his first solo exhibition, at the Betty Parsons Gallery, and it is met with devastating criticism. Other accounts date the debut to 1948; soon after his first exhibition, at the Artists’ Session at Studio 35, Newman remarks that artists are, to a certain extent, making the world in their own image.

1950–1958

An eight-year pause

After the harsh reception he takes an eight-year pause, devoting it to developing his mastery; the result is the retrospective of 1958.