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Perle Fine was one of the first women admitted to “The Club,” that mythic gathering of avant-garde New York artists. Originally conceived in 1949 as an insular (male) group of about 20 members, by 1950 there were over 80 members including a few women — Fine was invited to join by Willem de Kooning. This hallmark of her professional success is illustrative of the polarity of a whole career in which her many achievements were offset by disappointment.
By the time of her admission to “The Club” Fine had an enviable resumé of achievements: important museum and gallery exhibitions,
glowing reviews from critics and the press, universal admiration of her colleagues, and a recognition that her work was among the most original in strength and honesty. At the age of 42 she was a first generation Abstract Expressionist with her most mature work yet to come. Yet when she died thirty-eight years later, fame of any universal sort had eluded her (even with a record of over 150 solo and group exhibitions). While this frustrating dichotomy is more common than not in the arts, it seems a particularly
bitter pill given this painter’s level or raw talent and unflagging devotion to her work.
Fine’s biographer, Kathleen L. Housley, notes that outrageous, dramatic behavior is often at the core of who becomes famous, and wonders what becomes of the talented, but quiet artist? She notes, “These questions are not rhetorical. In the United States, where personality and star-quality have always been important, they pertain to which artists get recognized and written about during their lifetimes and beyond.” Certainly, Pollock’s boozy brawls and de Kooning’s womanizing only fueled the maelstrom of public interest in their work.
With the passage of enough time, histories get revised and overlooked personalities get rehabilitated. We live now in such a time for Abstract Expressionism. Housley’s excellent biography, Tranquil Power, The Art of Perle Fine (Midmarch Arts Press, 2005) goes a long way towards bringing this important American painter back to the mainstream. So too will a forthcoming retrospective being organized in conjunction with Hofstra University and scheduled for the spring of 2009 with additional museum venues to be announced. A conference is being planned alongside the exhibition: Perle Fine and Abstract Expressionist Leaders of the 1940s.
Given her credentials and power, it is inevitable that Fine will be given her due, perhaps even reinvented and newly labeled in the public imagination. Ironically, like most Abstract Expressionists she didn’t care for labels as they generally missed the mark. She preferred the untidy, argumentative discourse of her Tenth Street peers in which passionate disagreement generally carried the day. As she said, “I hope I have convinced nobody of anything. It is only in complete agreement that real danger lies.”
- Tom McCormick
March 2 - April 14, 2007, Opening Reception Friday, March 2, 5 - 8:30pm
Catalog available by request
Pictured: Line and Color Interwoven, oil on canvas, 1950, 42 x 60 inches
For more information contact the McCormick Gallery, 312.226.6800/www.thomasmccormick.com
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