From Motherwell to Hofmann: The Samuel Kootz Gallery, 1945–1966

From Motherwell to Hofmann: The Samuel Kootz Gallery, 1945–1966 is the first exhibition to examine the critical role Kootz (1898–1982) played in establishing modern American art as an international force. It will focus on the ways in which Kootz’s New York gallery (operational 1945–1966) was instrumental in promoting the careers of several major Abstract Expressionist artists, including William Baziotes, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, and Robert Motherwell. It will feature works by these artists as well as focus on a selection of important exhibitions that were held at the Kootz Gallery, including a 1946 show of the collection of Roy R. Neuberger, Kootz’s first customer at the gallery. Until now, Samuel Kootz has been underrepresented in the scholarship of the postwar period, despite representing much of the major talent in twentieth-century art. The exhibition and associated publication, with essays by noted experts, recasts Kootz, focusing on his writings, relationships with individual artists, collectors, and dealers, and the trajectories of the artists who showed at his gallery, in order to provide a new perspective on this moment in American art.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.