Irving Sandler
Encyclopedia
Irving Sandler is an American art critic and educator. He has provided numerous first hand accounts of American art, particularly around the abstract expressionist circles of the 1950s, where he managed the Downtown Tanager Gallery and co-ordinated the New York artists' 'Club' from 1955 to its demise in 1962 as well as documenting numerous conversations from the Cedar Tavern. Sandler saw himself as an impartial observer of this period, as opposed to polemical advocates such as Clement Greenberg or Harold Rosenberg.
Sandler was raised in Philadelphia. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps for three years in the Second World War. He received a bachelor's degree from Temple University
in 1948, and a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1950. He did some additional graduate work at Columbia University
, but ultimately finished a doctoral degree at New York University
much later, in 1976. He started writing art criticism at the behest of Thomas B. Hess for ARTNews
in 1956, and was a senior critic there through 1962. He has taught at several universities, including the Pratt Institute
, New York University, and the State University of New York at Purchase
, where he was appointed a professor in 1972.
Sandler has curated several critically acclaimed exhibitions including the "Concrete Expressionism Show" in 1965 at New York University
, which featured the work of painters Al Held
and Knox Martin
and the sculptors Ronald Bladen, George Sugarman and David Weinrib, and "The Prospect Mountain Sculpture Show" in 1977. Many American artists have been interviewed by Sandler, including first generation abstract expressionists such as Robert Motherwell in 1957 and later pop protagonists such as Tom Wesselmann
in 1984. In the 1970s he was co-founder of Artists Space, which showed Judy Pfaff, Chuck Close, and helped launch the careers of Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman amongst others.
As indicated in the bibliography below, Sandler has written several monographs on individual artists as well as a sweeping, four-volume survey of "postmodern art" (The Triumph of American Painting: A History of Abstract Expressionism (1970), The New York School: The Painters and Sculptors of the Fifties (1978), American Art of the 1960s (1988), and Art of the Postmodern Era: From the Late 1960s to the Early 1990s (1996).). Robert Storr has described the history, "Narrative, untheoretical--at times antitheoretical--and unapologetically focused not just on what happened in the United States but principally on what happened in Manhattan, Sandler's surveys have been widely criticized but even more widely used, not least because they are readable and deeply informed by their author's unrivaled access to the artists and art-worldings about whom he writes." Sandler continues to write, and is concerned with allowing certain aspects of New York painting to be reassessed, as in his recent work on Esteban Vicente (2007). In 2009 he published Abstract Expressionism and the American Experience: a Reevaluation.
Sandler was raised in Philadelphia. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps for three years in the Second World War. He received a bachelor's degree from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in 1948, and a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1950. He did some additional graduate work at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, but ultimately finished a doctoral degree at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
much later, in 1976. He started writing art criticism at the behest of Thomas B. Hess for ARTNews
ARTnews
ARTnews is an arts magazine based in New York, founded by James Clarence Hyde in 1902 as Hyde’s Weekly Art News. It is published 11 times a year.ARTnews covers all art, from ancient to Post-modernism...
in 1956, and was a senior critic there through 1962. He has taught at several universities, including 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,...
, New York University, and the State University of New York at Purchase
State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...
, where he was appointed a professor in 1972.
Sandler has curated several critically acclaimed exhibitions including the "Concrete Expressionism Show" in 1965 at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, which featured the work of painters Al Held
Al Held
Al Held was an American Abstract expressionist painter. He was particularly well known for his large scale Hard-edge paintings.-Background and education:...
and Knox Martin
Knox Martin
Knox Martin is an American painter, sculptor and muralist.Born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 till 1950. He is one of the leading members of New York School - a group of artists and writers. He lives and works in New York City."Art is...
and the sculptors Ronald Bladen, George Sugarman and David Weinrib, and "The Prospect Mountain Sculpture Show" in 1977. Many American artists have been interviewed by Sandler, including first generation abstract expressionists such as Robert Motherwell in 1957 and later pop protagonists such as Tom Wesselmann
Tom Wesselmann
Tom Wesselmann was an American artist associated with the Pop art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture.-Early years:...
in 1984. In the 1970s he was co-founder of Artists Space, which showed Judy Pfaff, Chuck Close, and helped launch the careers of Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman amongst others.
As indicated in the bibliography below, Sandler has written several monographs on individual artists as well as a sweeping, four-volume survey of "postmodern art" (The Triumph of American Painting: A History of Abstract Expressionism (1970), The New York School: The Painters and Sculptors of the Fifties (1978), American Art of the 1960s (1988), and Art of the Postmodern Era: From the Late 1960s to the Early 1990s (1996).). Robert Storr has described the history, "Narrative, untheoretical--at times antitheoretical--and unapologetically focused not just on what happened in the United States but principally on what happened in Manhattan, Sandler's surveys have been widely criticized but even more widely used, not least because they are readable and deeply informed by their author's unrivaled access to the artists and art-worldings about whom he writes." Sandler continues to write, and is concerned with allowing certain aspects of New York painting to be reassessed, as in his recent work on Esteban Vicente (2007). In 2009 he published Abstract Expressionism and the American Experience: a Reevaluation.
Works
Introduction by Russell Panczenko. A collection of Sandler's writings spanning six decades. Forward by Raphael Rubinstein.External links
- Irving Sandler papers, ca. 1950-2000. Research Library at the Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California. Papers of the American art critic Irving Sandler, including five decades of notes, transcripts and audiotapes of interviews with artists and art professionals, materials documenting art organizations and associations, and correspondence regarding publications, lectures, and academic appointments.