“Working as an artist on the Lower East Side in the late Forties and early Fifties wasn’t always easy, as Alfred Leslie can tell you. He once received a visit from the police, who asked him what he was doing in a huge, dark loft, with only a flickering lamp to see by. ‘I’m an […]
“I don’t go around looking for trouble, and yet these experiences often lead me out of sculpture to realms of danger — fantastic, literal, psychic danger.” — George Spaventa, ARTnews, September 1961 It is always exciting to find more strands of the expansive history in our neighborhoods; whether incidentally, or while following a direct lead. In this […]
Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) is one of the most well-known New York Abstract Expressionist painters. Born and raised in Chicago, Mitchell moved to New York City in 1949 after graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago and completing a fellowship in France. Naturally, she settled in Greenwich Village and the […]
While our blogs typically focus on the history of our neighborhoods and the incredible trailblazers who came before us, it is particularly satisfying to write about great artists who are still among us. David Amram is one of those extraordinary people. Village Preservation conducted an oral history with Mr. Amram on January 28, 2014, and […]
Influential Abstract Expressionist painter Paul Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. With his father, a farmer and government surveyor, mother and four brothers, Pollock grew up in Arizona and Chico, California, before moving to Greenwich Village. He lived in several Village apartments before becoming the Jackson Pollock who is considered one of […]
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation, but somehow aren’t landmarked. 95 East 10th Street (also known as 48 Third Avenue) was built in 1886 as a tenement building by architect James M. Farnsworth & […]
The now infamous Ninth Street Show, a ‘coming out’ of sorts for the post-war New York avant-garde art scene, began as a whimsical idea, but ended up literally overturning the hegemony of the uptown artists and art dealers over the art world in the mid-20th century New York art scene. The show was to become the […]
While much has been said lately about the 11th hour salvation of 827-831 Broadway, two critically important buildings in the life and work of artists Willem de Kooning and Elaine de Kooning, we thought it would be interesting to explore other spots in our neighborhoods that were also particularly meaningful to the de Koonings, and indeed […]
On April 24, 1904 artist Willem de Kooning was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. de Kooning was one of the major figures of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Abstract Expressionism was an art movement developed in New York City and the “first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York City at the center of the […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life […]
On Thursday evening, Village Preservation and the New School for Public Engagement hosted a lecture titled, “Jackson Pollock’s Downtown Years” given by art historian and MoMa educator Larissa Bailiff. While we can’t recount the entire amazing lecture to you (you’ll have to wait until a video of the event is available!), we can highlight some […]
