Grace Hartigan - Portrait of an Abstract Painter

Streaming video - 2008

One of the first American women artists to earn an international reputation, Grace Hartigan was a member of the small group of New York Abstract Expressionist painters who helped move the art world center from Paris to New York. Her work is in nearly every major museum in the country—in fact the first painting she ever sold was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art. Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline were among her close friends and influences. She made the bold but unpopular shift from Abstract Expressionism to figurative painting and has continued to steer her own course ever since.. In this film, we see how Hartigan broke through the "glass ceiling" and shattered boundaries along the way. She refused to be pi...geon-holed into one style of painting and left New York just when the interest in her work was at a peak. Even though she was harshly criticized by some in the New York art world, she continued to paint, to explore different styles and to create an important body of work, spanning over six decades.. Hartigan The Persian Jacket In addition to the hardships Hartigan faced, she also managed to overcome enormous personal struggles including a bout with alcoholism, an attempted suicide, and the death of her husband. Through it all, painting gave her the strength not only to survive, but to prevail.. more