Michael Corinne West (American, 1908-1991), Untitled

Oil on panel, July 1965, signed "Mich West / July 1965 / NY" at lower left, presented in an artist designed and painted frame.

Frame dimensions 21 x 33 1/8 in.

Corinne Michelle West was born in Chicago in 1908 and studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy before moving to New York in the early 1930s. There, she briefly studied with Hans Hofmann and soon became immersed in the circle of artists who would define the avant-garde New York School. She developed a close relationship with Arshile Gorky, who encouraged her to adopt the masculine name “Michael” in order to be taken more seriously in a male-dominated art world, a strategy also used by artists such as Lee Krasner and Grace Hartigan, who exhibited as “George.”

West’s dynamic paintings evolved from Cubist and Surrealist influences into powerful abstractions marked by expressive brushwork, movement, and a sustained interest in philosophy, science, and spirituality. Although her work was overlooked for much of her lifetime, West is now recognized as a significant and original voice within the first generation of Abstract Expressionists.

Some minor scuffing and rubbing to outer edge of frame.

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