News

 The art market--collectors, curators and museums--is in the early stages of a broad reappraisal of the contribution of previously overlooked groups to the development of post-war modernism. Artists who were regarded on the periphery--because they were women, gay, black or brown--are getting a much-deserved new look as old prejudices crumble.

Judith Lindbloom--young, a woman and openly gay--was one of the many artists who streamed to New York in the post-war years, drawn by the heady atmosphere and freedom to be found. It was not an easy life, especially for a women, because women then were not taken seriously.  Born in Detroit, Lindbloom (1933-2012) threw herself into the life. Pictures show her cigarette in mouth intently painting. At night she would hang out at the famed Cedar Bar, where she became especially close to Franz Kline.

There was a downside to this Bohemian life--drink and drugs--and Lindbloom indulged too much and too frequently. In 1964, her partner committed suicide and right before she was to be included in a group show at the Whitney, Lindbloom had a breakdown. She would not resume painting for sixteen years.

Lindbloom was a devoted fan of jazz and a muse to many of the greats of the era, including Gil Evans, Sony Rolllins and Steve Lacy. She designed and painted numerous album covers for some of their greatest work. Her work is included in a new compendium entitled "The Art of Feminism: Images the Shaped the Fight for Equality, 1857-2017."

Lawrence Fine Art is honored to represent Lindbloom's estate.  The estate contains not only a treasure-trove of works from the mid-1950s almost until her death in 2012 but also her notebooks, journals and letters which offer a first-person insight into the personalities and atmosphere of the period.  In one letter, Lindbloom talks about going from gallery to gallery and being turned down because she was a woman.  In another, she records the reactions of those in the Cedar Bar on the day they found out Jackson Pollock had died.