Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman January 29, 1905 - July 4, 1970 685 West End Avenue Born on the Lower East Side, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, abstract expressionist Barnett Newman was one of the foremost color field painters of the mid-twentieth century. His rejection of expressive brushstrokes, in favor of harder-edged fields of pure flat color, was a precursor to minimalism, and an important influence on younger artists. Many of his works had a philosophical bent, and reflected his interest in myths and the primitive unconscious. His trademark "zips", a lifelong feature of his work, were characterized by a thin, vertical line that zips through large areas of color. Newman's series "The Stations of the Cross" (1958-66), considered to be the peak of his achievement, and started shortly before he moved here with his wife, Annalee, has been interpreted as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. His best-known sculpture, "Broken Obelisk" (1963) depicts an inverted obelisk, whose point balances on the apex of a pyramid.