Michael Loew
Encyclopedia
Michael Loew was an American Abstract Expressionist artist who was born in New York City.
In the late 1920s, Loew studied at the Art Students League with the Ashcan School
and was a recipient of a Sadie A. May Fellowship which allowed Loew to continue his studies in France. Michael worked as a Works Progress Administration
(WPA) artist from 1933–1937 and during this time painted several murals for U.S. Post Offices, High Schools, as well as being commissioned to paint a mural for the Hall of Pharmacy for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Michael chose to share his private commission with close friend and fellow artist, Willem De Kooning
.
From 1939 to 1940 Loew traveled to Mexico and the Yucatán, gathering inspiration for his future work. Joining the U.S. Navy Seabees in 1943 as a Battalion Painter, Loew documented the work being done on the airbase on Tinian Island. It was from this airbase that the Enola Gay
would later take off from to drop the atomic bombs. Loew captured much of the work done on the island by the Navy in dozens of watercolors.
Returning to New York after the war, having lost much of his hearing, Loew started over with his art studies. He studied with Hans Hoffman in New York and Provincetown, and with Fernand Léger
in Paris. Loew became a member of the American Abstract Artists
and The Artist's Club as well as The Spiral Group. His works were shown at the Stable Gallery
Annuals of 1951-1955.
In 1960 and again in 1966, Loew was hired to teach at the University of California, Berkeley
. He also spent nearly three decades as a teacher at the School of Visual Arts
. In 1976 he won a fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
and in 1979 he was awarded a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation
.
Over the course of his life, Michael's work was exhibited extensively in galleries, museums and other cultural institutions including: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
, The Dallas Museum of Art
, The Whitney Museum of American Art
, The Philadelphia Museum of Art
and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
. The Michael Loew Papers are located in the Archives of American Art
at the Smithsonian Institution
.
In 1997 his estate was awarded the Judith Rothschild Foundation Grant.
In the late 1920s, Loew studied at the Art Students League with the Ashcan School
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, is defined as a realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods. The movement grew out of a group...
and was a recipient of a Sadie A. May Fellowship which allowed Loew to continue his studies in France. Michael worked as a Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA) artist from 1933–1937 and during this time painted several murals for U.S. Post Offices, High Schools, as well as being commissioned to paint a mural for the Hall of Pharmacy for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Michael chose to share his private commission with close friend and fellow artist, Willem De Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
.
From 1939 to 1940 Loew traveled to Mexico and the Yucatán, gathering inspiration for his future work. Joining the U.S. Navy Seabees in 1943 as a Battalion Painter, Loew documented the work being done on the airbase on Tinian Island. It was from this airbase that the Enola Gay
Enola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
would later take off from to drop the atomic bombs. Loew captured much of the work done on the island by the Navy in dozens of watercolors.
Returning to New York after the war, having lost much of his hearing, Loew started over with his art studies. He studied with Hans Hoffman in New York and Provincetown, and with Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
in Paris. Loew became a member of the American Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists
American Abstract Artists was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas, and for...
and The Artist's Club as well as The Spiral Group. His works were shown at the Stable Gallery
Stable Gallery
The Stable Gallery, originally located on West 58th Street in New York, was founded in 1953 by Eleanor Ward. The Stable Gallery hosted early solo New York exhibitions for artists including Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol.-History:...
Annuals of 1951-1955.
In 1960 and again in 1966, Loew was hired to teach at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He also spent nearly three decades as a teacher at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
. In 1976 he won a fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and in 1979 he was awarded a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
.
Over the course of his life, Michael's work was exhibited extensively in galleries, museums and other cultural institutions including: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, The Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas...
, The Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
. The Michael Loew Papers are located in the Archives of American Art
Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...
at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
In 1997 his estate was awarded the Judith Rothschild Foundation Grant.
Teaching Positions
- 1958-1985 School of Visual ArtsSchool of Visual ArtsThe School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, New York City - 1960, 1966 University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Awards and Fellowships
- 1964 Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Purchase - 1976 National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Fellowship Grant - 1979 Guggenheim FoundationGuggenheim FoundationGuggenheim Foundation may refer to one of the following:*The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation funds the Guggenheim Museums.*The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards grants to scientists, scholars and artists....
Fellowship - 1997 Judith Rothschild Grant
Collections
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Gallatin Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Carnegie Institute Museum of Art
- Albright Knox Art Gallery
- University of California, Berkeley
- Portland Museum of Art
- Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
- Detroit Museum of Art
- Wichita State University
- Farnsworth Museum
- Hampton University
- Israel Museum
- Monhegan Island Museum
Sources
- American Abstract Artists (1957). "The World of Abstract Art", pp. 167
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560
- Baur, J. (1974). Whitney Museum of American Art, Catalogue of the Collection, pp. 235
- Campbell, L. (1984). "Michael Loew at Marilyn Pearl Gallery", Art in America, pp. 193
- Curtis, J., Lieberman F. (1995). “Monhegan The Artists' Island”
- Falk, Peter Hastings, (1999) Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975, 3 Volumes, pp. 3724
- Gordon, J. (1962). “Geometric Abstraction in America”, pp. 68
- Herskovic M. (2000). New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-9677994-0-6
- Kingsley, A. (1973). "New York Letter", Art International, Apr. 1973, pp. 52–53
- Kingsley, A. (2008). http://www.worldcat.org/title/michael-loew-1907-1985-the-beginning-works-from-the-estate/oclc/232337632&referer=brief_results "Michael Loew 1907-1985: The Beginning Works from the Estate" (Chicago and New York: Mc Cormick Gallery/ Vincent Vallarino Fine Art, 2008)
- Larsen, S. C. (1979). "A Painter's Geometry: The Art of Michael Loew", Arts Magazine, pp. 130–134
- Larsen, Susan C (1997) "Michael Loew: Nature into Abstraction", The Farnsworth Art Museum
- Slivka, Rose C.S. (1989). “Willem de Kooning”, Art Journal 48 no. 3, Fall '89, pp. 219–221
- Stevens, M., Swan, A. (2006). "De Kooning an American Master"
- Stuart P. (1949). "Abstract Quartet", New York Times, Nov. 27, 1949