Barnett Newman’s Studio Material
Introduction
Barnett Newman (1905–1970) was an American painter based in New York. In 2007, the Barnett Newman Foundation generously donated Newman’s studio materials to the Harvard Art Museums. The collection comprises more than 1,200 objects ranging from paints and brushes (bristle, air, and roller), to the clothes worn by Newman when he painted (trousers, jacket, shoes, and hat), to paintings that were cut up, unfinished/rejected, or withdrawn from display because of damage. This collection reveals aspects about the artist and his practice that are hard to discern from the objects themselves—namely, his commitment to concealing the huge amount of work that goes into creating a work of art. His studio attire, spattered in paint, tells a very different story from the photos we see of Newman posing with his paintings in tailored clothing, suspenders, and a monocle on a lanyard.
The studio materials tell the story of a working artist. We gain a sense of the person behind the persona cultivated by the artist. Because we can no longer talk to Newman himself, his studio materials give us a palpable sense of his art making. In many ways it feels like a conversation with him directly.
This project was made possible through the generosity of the Barnett Newman Foundation and The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation.