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By 1950, Norman Lewis was a rapidly rising figure in the New
York art scene. In March, he had his second solo exhibition at
the Marian Willard Gallery. According to a review by
The Art
Digest
, “Lewis’ palette is at once brilliant and calculatingly
subtle. His evasive rhythms provoke and stimulate.” Eschewing
harsh contrasts and a loaded brush, Lewis developed his own
voice in the early 1950s with both works on canvas and paper.
He painted thinly, developing a deliberate and elegant
modernism — inspired by his observations of both the urban
and natural phenomena of the city.
A month later, Lewis was invited to the now celebrated
Artists’ Sessions. These April 21-23 meetings, organized by
Franz Kline and Willem De Kooning at Studio 35, united
many figures of the New York School to discuss, define and
defend the Abstract-Expressionist movement. Norman
Lewis was the only African-American artist to participate;
here Lewis is photographed across the table from his friend
and fellow painter Ad Reinhardt. They had both previously
studied at Columbia Teacher’s College and taught at the
Jefferson School together. Norman Lewis, however, was not
invited to the famous
Irascibles
photograph shoot published
in
Life
magazine the following year, trumpeting the rise of
the New York School. Only in these last few years has
Norman Lewis begun to find his rightful place back amongst
his more celebrated peers.
NORMAN LEWIS (1909 - 1979)