Pollock-Krasner Foundation Selects Paul Kasmin Gallery Presents Works Lee Krasner

Charles C. Bergman, Chairman and CEO of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, today announced the selection of Paul Kasmin Gallery to represent its holdings of artworks by its founder, Lee Krasner (1908-1984). Established in 1985 through the generous bequest of Krasner, one of the leading Abstract Expressionist painters and the widow of Jackson Pollock, the Foundation is the successor to the estates of both artists. It was formed for the sole purpose of providing financial assistance, whether professional or personal, to individual visual artists of recognized merit.

Samuel Sachs II, President of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, said, "The reputation of Paul Kasmin Gallery and its worldwide following give us great hope for the continuing and increasing recognition of Lee Krasner's artistic achievements. We are delighted that her work will be represented with the outstanding professionalism for which Paul Kasmin Gallery is known."

Paul Kasmin said, "Lee Krasner is frequently overlooked but remains one of the great artists of the 20th century. I have held both Lee Krasner and the Pollock- Krasner Foundation in the highest esteem for many years. It is incredibly exciting for the gallery to begin this collaboration." Paul Kasmin Gallery will present its first Lee Krasner exhibition in autumn 2017.

Founded in SoHo in 1989, Paul Kasmin Gallery now maintains three locations in Chelsea and participates each year in numerous international art fairs. The gallery's program currently includes representation of the estates of Constantin Brâncu?i, William N. Copley, Max Ernst, Simon Hantaï and Robert Motherwell, among others.

Born in Brooklyn in 1908, Lee Krasner studied at the Women's Art School of Cooper Union, the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League and in 1937 began taking classes with Hans Hofmann. Through membership in the American Abstract Artists group she met many of the painters who would eventually become known as Abstract Expressionists, but she did not encounter Jackson Pollock until 1942, when they both exhibited works at McMillen Gallery. In 1945, she and Pollock married. They worked in separate studios of The Farmhouse they shared outside Easthampton until Pollock's death.

Shortly after Krasner's death in 1984, The Museum of Modern Art presented a major retrospective of her work, which has also been the subject of major traveling exhibitions. Her paintings are in the Permanent Collections of institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The literature on her includes a full-length biography by art historian Gail Levin, published in 2012. Her papers are held by the Archives of American Art.

About the Pollock-Krasner Foundation

Based in New York but operating internationally, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation to date has made more than 4,100 grants to individual artists in 77 countries, for a total of more than $65 million. Through these grants, the Foundation has enabled artists to create new work, purchase needed materials and pay for studio rent, as well as meet their personal and medical expenses. Recipients of Pollock-Krasner grants have acknowledged their critical impact in allowing concentrated time to work in the studio and prepare for exhibitions and other professional opportunities such as residencies. To provide additional support, the Foundation maintains an up-to-date and comprehensive Grantee Image Collection representing the work of artists who have received grants since inception. Other initiatives of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation have included taking a leadership role (along with the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts) in supporting the groundbreaking report by the Aspen Institute's Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, The Artist as Philanthropist: Strengthening the Next Generation of Artist-Endowed Foundations.

For more information, including guidelines for grant applications, the public may visit the Foundation's website at www.pkf.org.

(Photo Credit: Robert E. Matz and Paul Katz)