Natalie Edgar (born 1932) is an American

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

painter, a former critic for ARTnews, and a key writer and historian on the birth and development of abstract expressionism.

Career

As a painter, Edgar has been classified as a "wom artist who broke the rules," and her lively, and often large, abstractions typically include a "mass of layered colors—with multiple glazes, opacities, broad areas laid down in washes" while "using dynamic strokes and contrasting tones hat... juxtapose color with areas of vacant canvas." Her skill and interests built on early art training at Brooklyn College with Mark Rothko,

Ad Reinhardt Adolph Dietrich Friedrich Reinhardt (December 24, 1913 – August 30, 1967) was an abstract painter active in New York for more than three decades. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists (AAA) and part of the movement centere ...

Burgoyne Diller Burgoyne A. Diller (January 13, 1906 – January 30, 1965) was an American abstract painter. Many of his best-known works are characterized by orthogonal geometric forms that reflect his strong interest in the De Stijl movement and the work of ...

, Alfred Russell, Harry Holzman, Martin James, and a degree in art history from Columbia University. That background laid the groundwork for a life-long appreciation for abstraction, which spanned reviews for Isamu Noguchi,

Norman Bluhm Norman Bluhm (March 28, 1921 – February 3, 1999), was an American painter classified as an abstract expressionist, and as an action painter. Biography He was born on March 28, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. His father Henry Bluhm was of Polish ...

Esteban Vicente Esteban Vicente Pérez (January 20, 1903 – January 10, 2001) was an American painter born in Turégano, Spain. He was one of the first generation of New York School abstract expressionists. He identified as an antifascist. Early life Esteban ...

and Franz Kline as well as a 1965 review on "The Satisfactions of

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

" for ARTnews, in which she explained her thinking about abstraction this way:

The almost-star could be a starfish, two ovals suggest anatomy, an egg-shape might be an egg, a blot a cocoon, a rumpled paper bag evokes the many lives it passed through, an almost-arch strains to bend more or straighten out, almost-triangle yearns to be perfect. They assume the capability needed to reach their ideals at one extreme, or, at the other extreme, their freedom in abstract invention. From familiar shapes they are transfigured into dramatic images.

Edgar has written and collaborated on many long-form projects on the early history of Abstract Expressionism. Her book ''Club Without Walls'' documents the movement's birth and development at the 8th Street Club. Collaborative work with husband and sculptor

Phillip Pavia Philip Pavia (1911-2005) was a culturally influential American artist of Italian descent, known for his scatter sculpture and figurative abstractions, and the debate he fostered among many of the 20th century's most important art thinkers. A foun ...

, also on The Club, is now archived at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

's research libraries. Edgar has also served as a source for scholarly research on the movement's origins at

MOMA Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

and in interviews with author Mary Gabriel for ''Ninth Street Women,'' a book about five women painters who changed modern art.

Solo exhibitions

*''Natalie Edgar:'' ''From Above,''

Woodward Gallery The Woodward Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery that opened in April 1994 under the incorporation G.O.L.A, Inc. (Gallery of Living Artists). The inaugural exhibition was held in Times Square at the Roundabout Theatre Company. It is owned b ...

, New York, NY, 2010. *''Watercolor Paper Edgar,'' Woodward Gallery, New York, NY, 2001. *''Natalie Edgar: New Works,'' Woodward Gallery, New York, NY, 1999. *''Disclosure,'' Woodward Gallery, New York, NY, 1997. *''Natalie Edgar, Abstract Paintings,'
Museo dei Bozzetti
Pietrasanta, Italy, 1993.

Awards

* Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Recipient, 2010.

Bibliography of Edgar's writings

*Philip Pavia, overview of career with 50 plates, introduction by Gerald Nordland, John Isaacs Books, 2009. * ''Club Without Walls,'' Edited book of Selections from the Journal of Philip Pavia (, Published by MidMarch Arts Press), 2007. * Archives of the Club and I''t is Magazine'', organized by Natalie Edgar, Woodruff Library, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2005. * '' ARTnews'', 1959–1973, staff writer. Articles on Isamu Noguchi, Norman Bluhm, Esteban Vicente, Robert Motherwell, the Spanish School, Peter Agostini, Louise Bourgois,

Frederick Kiesler Frederick John Kiesler (September 22, 1890 – December 27, 1965) was an Austrian- American architect, theoretician, theater designer, artist and sculptor. Biography Kiesler was born Friedrich Jacob Kiesler in Czernowitz, Austro-Hungarian Empi ...

. *''Art/World,'' 1979-1980, contributor, articles on George Spaventa, Joseph Beuys, Robert Motherwell,

Piero Dorazio Piero Dorazio (Rome, June 29, 1927 - Perugia, May 17, 2005) was an Italian painter. His work was related to color field painting, lyrical abstraction and other forms of abstract art. Early life Dorazio was born in Rome. His father was a civil s ...

Milton Resnick Milton Resnick (January 7, 1917 – March 12, 2004) was an American artist noted for abstract paintings that coupled scale with density of incident. It was not uncommon for some of the largest paintings to weigh in excess three hundred pounds, a ...

, Franz Kline, Michael Heizer,

Robert Ryman Robert Ryman (May 30, 1930February 8, 2019) was an American painter identified with the movements of monochrome painting, minimalism, and conceptual art. He was best known for abstract, white-on-white paintings. He lived and worked in New York C ...

Mary Miss Mary Miss (born May 27, 1944) is an American artist and designer. Her work has crossed boundaries between architecture, landscape architecture, engineering and urban design. Her installations are collaborative in nature: she has worked with scien ...

. * ''Fritz Glarner,'' 1966–1967, exhibition originated in

San Francisco Museum of Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary a ...

and traveled to Philadelphia Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated show and wrote catalogue.

Personal life

Edgar was married to the abstract expressionist sculptor Philip Pavia. The couple had two sons: Their elder son Luigi died in 2012. Their younger son Paul is a sculptor.

References

External links

Woodward Gallery

Mark Borghi Fine Art

ArtsyStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Philip Pavia and Natalie Edgar archive of abstract expressionist art, 1913-2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Natalie 1932 births Living people 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters American art critics American art historians Women art historians Abstract expressionist artists Modern artists Painters from New York City Brooklyn College alumni Historians from New York (state)