The Irasciples

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18 Painters Boycott Metropolitan;
Charge 'Hostility to Advanced Art'
May 22, 1950, New York Times:

18 Painters Boycott Metropolitan; Charge 'Hostility to Advanced Art' Eighteen well-known advanced American painters have served notice on the Metropolitan Museum of Art that they will not participate in a national exhibition at the museum in December because the award juries are "notoriously hostile to advanced art." This was made known last night in an open letter to Ronald L. Redmond, museum president, in which the painters and sculptors asserted that the organisation of the exhibition and the choice of the jurors "does not warrant any hope that a just proportion of advanced art will be included." The letter charged that Francis Henry Taylor, museum director, had "on more than one occasion publicly declared his contempt for modern painting." It added that Robert Berverly Hale, the museum's associate curator of American art, had, - in "accepting a jury notoriously hostile to advanced art," taken his "place beside Mr. Taylor." "We draw to the attention of those gentlemen," the letter sent on, "the historical fact that, for roughly 100 years, only advanced art has made any consequential contribution to civilization." The letter declared the signers' belief that "all the advanced artists of America will join us in our stand." The artists who signed the letter were Jimmy Ernst, Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, William Baziotes, Hans Hofmann, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Richard Poussette-Dart, Theodoros Stamos, Ad Reinhardt, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Bradley Walker Tomlin, Willem de Kooning, Hedda Sterne, James Brooks, Waldon Kees and Fritz Bultman. The letter also was signed by ten sculptors with the notation that they supported the artists' stand. The sculptors were Herbert Farber, David Smith, Ibram Lassaw, Mary Callery, Day Schnabel, Seymour Lipton, Peter Grippe, Theodore Roszak, David Hare and Louise Bourgeois. Mr. Newman, one of the artists, explained that he and his colleagues were critical of the membership of all five regional juries established for the exhibition but were specifically opposed to the New York group, the "national jury of selection" and the "jury of awards." The New York jurors are Charles Burchfield, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Leon Kroll, Ogden Pleissnar, Vaclav Vytlacil and Paul Sample. The national jury is composed of Mr. Hale, Mr. Pleissner, Maurice Sterne, Millard Sheets, Howard Cook, Lamar Dodd, Francis Chapin, Zoltan Sepeshy and Esther Williams. The jury of awards, which will confer the prizes, includes William M. Milliken, Franklin C. Watkins and Eugene Speicher. First Prize is $3,500, second $2,500, third $1,500 and fourth $1,000. The exhibition is to be known as "American Painting Today - 1950". Mr. Redmond is in Europe and could not be reached for comment. Both Mr. Taylor and Mr. Hale said they preferred not to comment until they had seen the letter. May 22, 1950, New York Times

Decided to curate a special "exhibition" for them:

('them' being:

Jackson Pollock ( 1912-1956)

Barnett Newman (1905-1970)

Willem De Kooning (1904-1997)

Clyfford Still ( 1904-1980)

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974)

Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967)

Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)

Mark Rothko ( 1903-1970)

William Baziotes (1912-1963)

James Brooks (1906-1992)

Jimmy Ernst (1920-1984)

Theodoros Stamos ( 1922-1997)

Bradley Walker Tomlin (1899-1953)

Richard Poussette-Dart (1916-1992)

Hedda Sterne (1916))

Theodoros Stamos, Composition, 1950; Oil on canvas, 53" x 31"1/2.

Jimmy Ernst, City Space, 1950; Oil on canvas, 36"1/2 x 24".

Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-51; Oil arnett New7' 11"3/8 x 17' 9"1/4.

James Brooks, Number 27, 1950, 1950; Oil on canvas, 27" x 46".

Mark Rothko: Number 10, 1950; Oil on canvas, 90"1/2 x 57"1/8.

Richard Pousette-Dart, White Sound, 1949; Oil and graphite on linen, 58"1/2 x 49"1/4.

William Baziotes, Moon Animal, 1950; Oil on canvas, 43" x 36"1/4.

Jackson Pollock, One: Number 31, 1950; Oil and enamel paint on canvas, 8' 10" x 17' 5 5/8".

Clyfford Still, 1950-K-No. 1, 1950; painting; oil on canvas, 108"1/8 x 86"1/8.

Robert Motherwell, Mural Fragment, 1950; Oil on composition board, 8' x 12'.

Bradley Walker Tomlin, Number 9: In Praise of Gertrude Stein, 1950; Oil on canvas, 49" x 8' 6 1/4".

Willem De Kooning, Excavation, 1950; Oil on canvas, 6' 8"1/8 x 8' 4"1/8.

Adolph Gottlieb, The Seer, 1950; Oil on canvas, 59"3/4 x 71"5/8.

Ad Reinhardt, Number 107, 1950; Oil on canvas, 6' 8" x 36".

Hedda Sterne, Machine 5, 1950; Oil on canvas, 51" x 38"1/8.