Lot 402: Mary Lee Abbott Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting

Mary Lee Abbott (New York, 1921-2019) oil and oil stick on paper mounted to canvas Abstract Expressionist composition in blue, yellow, white, and black with areas of heavy impasto that contrast with more thinly painted passages, c. 1952. Signed lower right. McCormick Gallery, Chicago, label affixed to back of stretcher. Floated in a modern wood frame. Sheet: 29″ H x 23″ W. Framed: 33 1/2″ H x 27 1/2″ W. Biographical note: Born in New York City in 1921, pioneering Abstract Expressionist Mary Lee Abbott studied at the Art Students League under George Grosz and later with Eugene Weiss at the Corcoran Museum School in Washington, DC. In 1946, Abbott moved to Greenwich Village where she met and joined the circle of fellow Abstract Expressionists Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, among others. Abbott was among the artists included in “Women of Abstract Expressionism,” the first museum exhibition dedicated exclusively to the pioneering women of the AbEx movement. Presented at the Denver Museum of Art in 2016, the show also included the work of Helen Frankenthaler, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Deborah Remington, and Ethel Schwabacher. In addition to painting, Abbott also had a career as a model and was featured on the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar (Adapted from “Mary Abbott (1921-2019).” Artforum, September 11, 2019).

PROVENANCE: McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL

CONDITION: Sheet has been laid to canvas. 2 3/4″ x 1 1/4″ liquid stain to upper left. With minor foxing to some areas, primarily upper right.