Docent Handbook - Artist Fact Sheet

Artist Name: McNEIL, GEORGE Date: 1908-1995 Nationality: American Title/Date: Claudine, 1993 Size: 99 x 74 inches Medium: oil and collage on canvas Gallery Location:

Salient Characteristics of this Work:

- Bold, vibrant use of color - Abstraction - Multiple figures of disparate sizes within the composition make the painting appear both playful and menacing

Salient Characteristics of the Artist/Anecdotal Information:

- In the 1930’s, early in his career, McNeil studied painting with Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) which profoundly shaped his understanding of and the potential for his own work - His bold, vibrant use of color stems from his involvement with the Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1940’s and 50’s - Painting technique is largely improvisational—he did not plan what elements would take place in the composition—a technique which was inherited from the teachings ofHans Hofmann - In the 60’s, McNeil broke away from the Abstract Expressionist style and began to include rough, abstracted figures in his paintings - Later work is characterized by vibrant color and figures

Information Narrative:

- Born in , New York in 1908 - As a high school student, he attended Sunday Art classes at the - In the early 30’s he studied with Jan Matulka, a Cubist painter who was very influenced by Picasso - From the years of 1932-1936, he studied with Hans Hofmann, which profoundly shaped his understanding of modern art - In 1935, he joined the WPA - In 1936, he helped to form “American Abstract Artists,” a group of artists who protested the rejection of contemporary American abstract art by most museums and galleries, which had not yet started exhibiting work by young American abstractionists - Served in the Navy during World War II - Attended the Pratt Institute, Art Students League, Hans Hoffmann’s School of Art, and - Was a prolific artist who continued to exhibit new work up until his death in 1995 - Also had a long and prestigious teaching career at institutions across the country