Painting

Greenberg viewed the younger artists of Post Painterly Abstraction as the legitimate heirs of Abstract Expressionism. The painters closest to Greenbergs concepts and interests included Louis, Noland, and Jules Olitski, as well as the sculptors Anthony Caro and Anne Truitt. For Greenberg, Post Painterly Abstraction represented the continuation and future of modernist principles: openness of design, linear clarity, high-key color, anonymity of execution, a merging of medium with support, and the essential notion of truth to the mediumpaintings flatness.

The term Post Painterly Abstraction was Clement Greenbergs invention, a codification of the next step in the evolution of painting. Also known as Color Field painting, the style first developed in the 1950s as artists discovered new possibilities in paint application and pictorial construction. Around 1950, Greenberg introduced Helen Frankenthaler to Jackson Pollock. Drawing inspiration from Pollocks ambitious scale and revolutionary techniques, Frankenthaler began pouring diluted paint onto unprimed canvas. The color spread, merging with the support into monumental effects of surprising freshness. In 1953, Greenberg arranged for Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland to visit her studio in New York. Frankenthalers stain-painting technique inspired radical shifts in their work. The critic explained the new style to the public and offered invaluable support to the artists he favored.

Very Old Orchard, 1953, Watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches