American Art 1950s-1970s

Start date: Sunday, January 25, 2009
Event is ongoing: Until Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Dallas Museum of Art’s postwar American art holdings are among the great strengths of its collections. Rich in major abstract expressionist paintings, as well as responses to that movement in the collage-based work of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, the depth of our postwar holdings reflects several important developments in American art from the 1950s through the 1970s. In these decades, the dominance of European abstraction before World War II gave way to the rise of New York as a center of the avant-garde, while setting the stage for numerous movements and styles whose influence is still being felt today.

This exhibition brings together highlights from the collections to suggest the postwar era’s richness. It juxtaposes monumental, totem-like abstract expressionist canvases with an intimate box construction by Joseph Cornell and the brash and bold wit of pop artists like Tom Wesselmann and Richard Lindner. The installation’s thematic organization emphasizes the diverse connections among all these works and invites multiple interpretations from the viewer.

The exhibition is organized by Charles Wylie, The Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The museum is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. On Late Night Fridays (third Friday of the month, excluding December), the museum is open until midnight.