Back in the 1984, two local collectors, Ronnie and John Shore, purchased all but five of the paintings in Barbara Rose’s exhibition American Painting: The Eighties, first on display at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University in 1979 and then traveling to multiple countries for the next three years, 1980, 1981,1982. The Shores have generously donated all forty of these paintings to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Included in this gift is FRANCES BARTH diptych, “Mokroe”. 1976, 6’x13’8” ac/pastel/charcoal on canvas—2 panels/ diptych.
American Painting: The Eighties Revisited
March 12 – July 11, 2021 | Galleries 301, 302, and 303 | Cincinnati Art Museum
Reconstituting the landmark exhibition American Painting: The Eighties from New York University’s Grey Art Gallery exhibition in 1979, American Painting: The Eighties Revisited captures a pivotal moment in twentieth century art. It features abstract paintings by artists, including Sam Gilliam, Nancy Graves, and Elizabeth Murray, all of whom were new to the New York art scene at the time. American Painting: The Eighties toured to Houston, Texas, then to 13 cities abroad, from Paris to Tel Aviv.
Along the way, a lively argument ensued about the direction that art was headed: would the best paintings reflect back on the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s, or would they launch from the subsequent Pop Art or Minimalist movements?
All 41 artists featured in the original exhibition are shown here, including 35 paintings shown at the Grey Art Gallery. This collection has been acquired by the Cincinnati Art Museum through the generosity of Ronnie and John Shore.
Organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum, Guest Curator Kate Bonansinga
The travel schedule for American Painting: The Eighties:
Grey Art Gallery, New York University, September–October 13, 1979; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, October 28–December 30, 1979, American Cultural Center, Paris (dates unknown), Helsingin Taidetalo, Helsinki, August 27–September 15, 1980, Ludwig Collection (Neue Gallerie), Aachen, September 27–October 20, 1980, Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, early November 1980–January 1981, Tel Aviv Museum, February–April 1981, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, June 25–July 26, 1981, Galeria Arcady, Krakow, September 2–27, 1981, Galeria Studio, Warsaw, October 5–31, 1981, Pinacoteca Provinciale of Bari, November 14–December 5, 1981, Teatro del Falcone, Genoa, December 8, 1981–early March 1982, Palacio de la Virreina Catalonia, Barcelona, March 30–April 1982, Gallery of La Caixa, Madrid, May 6–June 5, 1982, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, June–July 1982"