Bernard Harper Friedman (July 27, 1926 – January 4, 2011), better known by his initials, "B. H.," or known as Bob to his friends was an American author and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

who wrote biographies of

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...

and

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (January 9, 1875 – April 18, 1942) was an American sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder in 1931 of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She was a prominent social figure and hostess, ...

, a number of novels that combined his experiences in the worlds of art and business, and an autobiographical account of his use of

psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

s with

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

Studies

Friedman was born on July 27, 1926, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Leonard and Madeline Copland (Uris) Friedman. He enrolled at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

before enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, serving from 1944 to 1946. He returned to Cornell after completing his military service and earned his undergraduate degree in literature in 1948. He married his second cousin, Abby Noselson, in 1948, while they were in college.

Early career

Friedman went into the real estate business owned by his uncles

Percy Uris Percy Uris (August 19, 1899 – November 20, 1971) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Harold Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation. Biography Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sad ...

and

Harold Uris Harold D. Uris (May 26, 1905 – March 28, 1982) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Percy Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation. Biography Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of ...

, working his way up to become a director of the Uris Buildings Corporation.Weber, Bruce
"B. H. Friedman, a Novelist, Art Critic and Pollock Biographer, Is Dead at 84"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 10, 2011. Accessed January 11, 2011. After publishing his first novel — ''Circles'' (1962), a story based on life in the art world in New York City and

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

— he left the real estate business to focus on his writing.

Writings

He was an early collector of Pollock’s work, and he also became a friend of Pollock and Lee Krasner. He wrote the introduction to the exhibition of

Lee Krasner Lenore "Lee" Krasner (born Lena Krassner; October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984) was an American abstract expressionist painter, with a strong speciality in collage. She was married to Jackson Pollock. Although there was much cross-pollination betw ...

in 1958 at the

Martha Jackson Gallery Martha Jackson (; January 17, 1907 – July 4, 1969) was an American art dealer, gallery owner, and collector. Her New York City based Martha Jackson Gallery, founded in 1953, was groundbreaking in its representation of women and internatio ...

exhibition: "In looking at these paintings (the earth series), listening to them, feeling them, I know that this work - Lee Krasner's most mature and personal, as well as most joyous and positive, to date - was done entirely in the last year and a half, a period of profound sorrow for the artist. The paintings are a stunning affirmation of life." ''Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible'' (1972) is considered to be the first biography of the artist; reviewing it for ''

,''

Hilton Kramer Hilton Kramer (March 25, 1928 – March 27, 2012) was an American art critic and essayist. Biography Early life Kramer was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and was educated at Syracuse University, receiving a bachelor's degree in English; Col ...

called it "a book that everyone interested in the social history of modern art will want to read." Frustrated by perceived snubs from the major book-publishing firms, Friedman joined other authors, such as

Mark Jay Mirsky Mark Jay Mirsky (born 1939 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American writer and professor of English at City College of New York. Work Mirsky's first three novels (''Thou Worm Jacob'', ''Proceedings of the Rabble'', and ''Blue Hill Avenue'') pr ...

and

Ronald Sukenick Ronald Sukenick (July 14, 1932 – July 22, 2004) was an American writer and literary theorist. Life Sukenick was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where his father was a dentist. He graduated from Midwood High School and Cornell University ...

, to form the

Fiction Collective Fiction Collective Two (FC2) is an author-run, not-for-profit publisher of avant-garde, experimental literature, experimental fiction supported in part by the University of Utah, the University of Alabama, Central Michigan University, Illinois Sta ...

in 1974, a not-for-profit publishing group whose goals were to "make serious novels and story collections available in simultaneous hard and quality paper editions" and to "keep them in print permanently." Sukenick, Ronald
"The Guest Word; By RONALD SUKENICK"
''

'', September 15, 1974. Accessed January 11, 2011. His 1978 book, ''Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: A Biography,'' provided an account of the life of the artist, art collector and patron of the arts. His autobiographical account, ''Tripping'' (2006), recounts his experiences using psychedelic drugs with Timothy Leary. Friedman died in Manhattan at the age of 84, on January 4, 2011, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He was survived by a daughter, a son and two grandchildren. His wife died in 2003. His younger brother, novelist

Sanford Friedman Sanford Friedman (June 11, 1928 – April 20, 2010) was an American novelist. He was gay and his books often featured LGBT themes. Friedman's ''Totempole'' (1965) features an army love affair between its protagonist and a North Korean doctor ...

, was born in 1928 and died in 2010. Novels * ''Circles'' (1962), Fleet Publishing, New York. * '' Yarborough'' (1964), World Publishing, Cleveland. * ''Whispers'' (1971), Ithaca House, New York. * ''Museum'' (1974), Fiction Collective, New York. * ''Almost a Life'' (1975), Viking Press, New York. * ''The Polygamist'' (1981), Little, Brown, Boston. * ''My Case Rests'' (2009), Provincetown Arts Press, Provincetown. Short Fiction * ''Coming Close: A Novella and Three Stories as Alternative Biographies'' (1982), Fiction Collective, New York. * ''Between the Flags: Uncollected Stories 1948-1990'' (1990), Fiction Collective, New York. * ''Swimming Laps: Stories and Meditations'' (1999), Edgewise, New York. Non-Fiction * ''School of New York: Some Younger Artists'' (1959), Grove Press, New York. * ''Alfonso Ossorio'' (1965), H.N. Abrams, New York. * ''Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible'' (1972), McGraw-Hill, New York. * ''Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: A Biography'' (1978), Doubleday, New York. * ''Tripping: A Memoir of Timothy Leary'' (2006), Provincetown Arts Press, Provincetown. Drama * ''Heart of a Boy'' (1994), Center for Book Arts, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, B. H. 1926 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American novelists American art critics American male biographers American male novelists United States Navy personnel of World War II American real estate businesspeople Cornell University alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Jewish American novelists Writers from Manhattan 20th-century American biographers Journalists from New York City 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Historians from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews