Adolph Gottlieb: Sculptor

One of the founding members of the Abstract Expressionists, Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) was an important presence in the artistic life of New York from the 1930s until his death.  His paintings, consisting of large images that evoke a universal language of symbols, have become icons in America painting.

An artist who continually sought new challenges, in 1967 Gottlieb suddenly began to work in sculpture.  His maquettes composed of cardboard painted with acrylic and his aluminum and bronze final sculptures represent a natural extension into the third dimension of many of the concerns that occupied him in his paintings.  Although Gottlieb’s foray into sculpture lasted only about a year and a half, they represent a summation of his thinking about form, color and space that he had explored in his painting and the sculptures stand as an important body of work by this exceptional painter.