Amaranth Ehrenhalt: Works on Paper 1957-1969

The story of the post-WWII New York School painters is still being written, with the story of the female artists of that era still underappreciated. A well-timed show at the Denver Art Museum explored the contribution of the "Women of Abstract Expressionism," such as Elaine DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine, Sonia Gechtoff, and others. One of the last living members of that group is Amaranth Ehrenhalt, who recently turned 90-years-old.

Ehrenhalt journeyed to Paris after the war and settled there as an expatriate artist for the next fifty-odd years. Le Select Cafe was the place where artists and cognoscenti met. There she met the noted German artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with whom she became lovers. There Ehrenhalt met Beauford Delaney and Yves Klein, among others. There she befriended Giacometti. And, in Paris, she exhibited with, among others, Joan Mitchell and Sam Francis.

Ehrenhalt's work across media--on canvas, in tapestry, on paper, or in sculpture--reveals a fluid sense of ease and a breadth of mastery as she pursues her own lyrical vision of abstraction over time. Like any great artist, she is always experimenting and, often simultaneously, moving back to familiar themes. She has said that she has no favorite medium, but is "all in" whenever and on whatever she is working.

We are particularly attracted to her watercolors and gouaches. Lawrence Fine Art will show works from the beginning of her journey--from the mid-1950s to the end of the 60s. To see her work in this medium is to see consummate accomplishment. "Works on Paper 1957-1968" opens February 22 and continues through March 22. Works are also available to view on Artsy.
he story of the post-WWII New York School painters is still being written, with the story of the female artists of that era still underappreciated. A well-timed show at the Denver Art Museum explored the contribution of the "Women of Abstract Expressionism," such as Elaine DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine, Sonia Gechtoff, and others. One of the last living members of that group is Amaranth Ehrenhalt, who recently turned 90-years-old.

Ehrenhalt journeyed to Paris after the war and settled there as an expatriate artist for the next fifty-odd years. Le Select Cafe was the place where artists and cognoscenti met. There she met the noted German artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with whom she became lovers. There Ehrenhalt met Beauford Delaney and Yves Klein, among others. There she befriended Giacometti. And, in Paris, she exhibited with, among others, Joan Mitchell and Sam Francis.

Ehrenhalt's work across media--on canvas, in tapestry, on paper, or in sculpture--reveals a fluid sense of ease and a breadth of mastery as she pursues her own lyrical vision of abstraction over time. Like any great artist, she is always experimenting and, often simultaneously, moving back to familiar themes. She has said that she has no favorite medium, but is "all in" whenever and on whatever she is working.

We are particularly attracted to her watercolors and gouaches. Lawrence Fine Art will show works from the beginning of her journey--from the mid-1950s to the end of the 60s. To see her work in this medium is to see consummate accomplishment. "Works on Paper 1957-1968" opens February 22 and continues through March 22. Works are also available to view on Artsy.

The story of the post-WWII New York School painters is still being written, with the story of the female artists of that era still underappreciated. A well-timed show at the Denver Art Museum explored the contribution of the "Women of Abstract Expressionism," such as Elaine DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine, Sonia Gechtoff, and others. One of the last living members of that group is Amaranth Ehrenhalt, who recently turned 90-years-old.

Ehrenhalt journeyed to Paris after the war and settled there as an expatriate artist for the next fifty-odd years. Le Select Cafe was the place where artists and cognoscenti met. There she met the noted German artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with whom she became lovers. There Ehrenhalt met Beauford Delaney and Yves Klein, among others. There she befriended Giacometti. And, in Paris, she exhibited with, among others, Joan Mitchell and Sam Francis.

Ehrenhalt's work across media--on canvas, in tapestry, on paper, or in sculpture--reveals a fluid sense of ease and a breadth of mastery as she pursues her own lyrical vision of abstraction over time. Like any great artist, she is always experimenting and, often simultaneously, moving back to familiar themes. She has said that she has no favorite medium, but is "all in" whenever and on whatever she is working.

We are particularly attracted to her watercolors and gouaches. Lawrence Fine Art will show works from the beginning of her journey--from the mid-1950s to the end of the 60s. To see her work in this medium is to see consummate accomplishment. "Works on Paper 1957-1968" opens February 22 and continues through March 22. Works are also available to view on Artsy.