Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced
Abstract Expressionism. Born and educated near Munich, he was active in the early twentieth-century European
avant-garde and brought a deep understanding and synthesis of
Symbolism,
Neo-impressionism,
Fauvism, and
Cubism when he emigrated to the United States in 1932. Hofmann's painting is characterized by its rigorous concern with pictorial structure and unity, spatial illusionism, and use of bold color for expressive means. The influential critic
Clement Greenberg considered Hofmann's first New York solo show at
Peggy Guggenheim’s
Art of This Century in 1944 (along with
Jackson Pollock’s in late 1943) as a breakthrough in painterly versus geometric abstraction that heralded abstract expressionism. In the decade that followed, Hofmann's recognition grew through numerous exhibitions, notably at the
Kootz Gallery, culminating in major retrospectives at the
Whitney Museum of American Art (1957) and
Museum of Modern Art (1963), which traveled to venues throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. His works are in the permanent collections of major museums around the world, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Tate Modern,
Germanisches Nationalmuseum,
National Gallery of Art, and
Art Institute of Chicago.
Hofmann is also regarded as one of the most influential art teachers of the 20th century. He established an art school in Munich in 1915 that built on the ideas and work of
Cézanne, the Cubists and
Kandinsky; some art historians suggest it was the first modern school of art anywhere. After relocating to the United States, he reopened the school in both New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts until he retired from teaching in 1958 to paint full-time. His presence in New York teaching had a significant influence on post-war American avant-garde artists—including
Joseph Glasco,
Helen Frankenthaler,
Nell Blaine,
Lee Krasner,
Joan Mitchell,
Louise Nevelson, and
Larry Rivers, among many—as well as on the theories of Greenberg, in his emphasis on the medium, picture plane, and unity of the work. Some of Hofmann's other key tenets include his push/pull spatial theories, his insistence that abstract art has its origin in nature, and his belief in the spiritual value of art. Hofmann died of a heart attack in New York City on February 17, 1966.
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