Betty Parsons was often referred to as the "den mother of Abstract Expressionism," for her championing of and exhibiting some of the emerging names of the era at

her eponymous gallery, including Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. She once said: "I give them walls. They do the rest." Helen Frankenthaler said of Parsons that she "constructed the center of the art world."

 

Parsons was not just a noted gallerist but an artist of note. She would create in her studio overlooking the North Shore of Long Island and was particularly known for her small wood constructions and paintings. It was her own training as an artist that informed her eye for innovative talent, guiding her commitment to new and emerging artists of her time. It was also the aspect of her rich and varied experience that made her the happiest.

 

Her work is held by the Whitney, MOMA, Carnegie, and the High Museum, Atlanta, among others.