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Inv. n°: CL891

Nihilism

Signed lower left, "M West" and signed verso, "Michael West 1949 nihilism. Abstract Expressionism.

h. 134.94 x w. 102.24 cm
1949
Oil, enamel, and sand on canvas

Provenance

  • Estate of the Artist
  • Michael Borghi Fine Art, New Jersey
  • Hollis Target, New York
  • Magis Collection, Minnesota
  • Acquired at Heather James Fine Art, San Francisco, 01/01/2020

Publications

  • E. Sattanni (ed.), Michael West, Uptown Galleries, Sacramento, 1957
  • C. McNamara (ed.), Michael West: Painter-Poet, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, New York, 1996
  • J. Marter (ed.), Women of Abstract Expressionism, Yale UP with Denver Art Museum, New Heaven, 2016, p. 24
  • E. G. Landau (ed.), Space Poetry: The Action Paintings of Michael West, Hollis Taggart, New York, 2019
  • Heather James Fine Art, Abstract Expressionist Women, February 4, 2020 12:00 AM, pp. 30-31
  • K. Grovier, "Blinding Light: The 'Great American Painting?'", BBC Culture, October 5, 2020 12:00 AM, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201002-blinding-light-the-great-american-painting
  • Hollis Taggart, in E. Landau (ed.), Michael West's Monochrome Climax, 01/01/2021, p. 9, fig. 5
  • "Restoration Conversations: Women Artists and the Abstract Revolution", The Florentine You Tube, April 21, 2021 12:00 AM, [On-line]. Available at: https://youtu.be/tgdWylCx1Uk, 16:16
  • C. Marcel (ed.), Elles font l'abstraction, May 1, 2021, p. 151
  • H. Farrell & L. Falcone, "At Home with Christian and Florence Levett: Collecting Art and Women's Abstract Expressionism", The Florentine.net, May 5, 2021 12:00 AM, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.theflorentine.net/2021/05/05/at-home-gallery-christian-florence-levett/
  • C. Marcel (ed.), Women in Abstraction, October 1, 2021
  • Jackie Wullschläger, "Whitechapel Gallery offers thrilling landmark show of female abstract artists — review", Financial Times, February 1, 2023 12:00 AM, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/d5a8c1b5-1695-4970-b9f8-ef4b84ed8ea0
  • Ellen G. Landau & Joan M. Marter, Abstract Expressionists: The Women, London, 2023, pp. 179-181 (detail), p. 245
  • "When abstraction was an act of liberation", The Financial Times, London, February 1, 2023 12:00 AM, p. 20
  • White Chapel, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Action, Geste, Peinture : Femmes dans l’abstraction, une histoire mondiale 1940-1970, Bice Curiger, 2023, p. 145
  • E.G. Landau, "The Strongest Gesture of All: Women Painters at FAMM, 1940-1970s", FAMM - Female Artists of the Mougins Museum, France, Merrell and FAMM, May 1, 2025, p. 120

Exhibitions

  • Michael West Paintings, Uptown Galleries, Sacramento, USA, November 1, 1957 12:00 AM — November 15, 1957 12:00 AM
  • Michael West, Painter Poet, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, New York, USA, August 1, 1996 12:00 AM — October 26, 1996 12:00 AM
  • Space Poetry, The Action Paintings of Michael West, Hollis Taggart Gallery, New York, USA, November 7, 2019 12:00 AM — December 21, 2019 12:00 AM
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK, February 7, 2023 12:00 AM — May 14, 2023 12:00 AM
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles, France, June 4, 2023 12:00 AM — October 22, 2023 12:00 AM
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Kunstalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany, December 1, 2023 — March 1, 2024
  • FAMM (Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins), Mougins, France, mougins, France, From 21st June 2024 to present day
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas, USA, August 24, 2025 12:00 AM — November 16, 2025 12:00 AM
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, January 30, 2026 12:00 AM — April 26, 2026 12:00 AM
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, May 23, 2026 12:00 AM — August 30, 2026 12:00 AM
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, Iowa, USA, September 19, 2026 12:00 AM — January 3, 2027 12:00 AM
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama, USA, January 30, 2027 12:00 AM — April 25, 2027 12:00 AM

N.B. Our online collection is being continually updated thanks to ongoing research and documentation efforts carried out by the FAMM documentation team. Any additional information is welcome, please contact us.