HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

in conjunction with the

HOFSTRA CULTURAL CENTER

present a symposium

Perle Fine and Early Leaders of Abstract Expressionism

Friday and Saturday
April 24 and 25, 2009

This two-day event, held in conjunction with the Hofstra University Museum exhibition Tranquil Power: The Art of Perle Fine features a daylong symposium of new scholarship with three sessions - The Women of Abstract Expressionism, From Europe to America: Hans Hofmann and His Legacy and What is Abstract Expressionism? Critics, Dealers and Painters. An optional tour daylong tour of the East End of Long Island and it's links to the world of Abstract Expressionism is offered in conjunction with this symposium.

Perle Fine (1905-1988) was one of the few women artists in the inner circle of the Abstract Expressionism movement. She moved from Boston to New York in the late 1920s to study art. Kimon Nicolaides was her mentor at The Art Student League. By the late 1930s, she attended Hans Hofmann's studio sessions. Fine soon became an active member of the New York School. Championed by Baroness Hilla Rebay and the S.R. Guggenheim Foundation, Fine also interacted with the American Abstract Artists Group, where she met Piet Mondrian. As her work developed into a more forceful and expressive abstraction, she was honored with solo exhibits at the galleries of Karl Nierendorf, Marian Willard and Betty Parsons. In 1950, Willem de Kooning sponsored her membership in the Artist's Club. She participated in the seminal 9th Street Show of 1951, and was included in all five New York Annuals of the 1950s. In the mid-1950s, Fine built a studio in Springs, Long Island, near friends and colleagues Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollack, becoming a member of a sparse but ultimately enduring artistic community.

Hostra University Museum is proud to showcase the work of Perle Fine. A prolific artists intent on exploring her own personal abstract language in a variety of media, Fine moved her studio to the East End of Long Island where she was in her artistic prime. She was an influential faculty member in the Fine Arts Department at Hofstra University from 1962-1973.

More information and a complete schedule of events can be found in the symposium registration program. For more information about the symposium please contact the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516)463-5669. For more information about the Perle Fine exhibit please contact the Hofstra University Museum at (516) 463-5672.

Symposium Co-Directors:

Beth E. Levinthal
Director
Hofstra University Museum

Christina Mossaides Strassfield
Curator
Guild Hall
East Hampton, NY