Louise Nevelson

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) is remembered as one of the most significant artists of the twentieth-century; her most iconic pieces include abstract, assemblaged sculptures made from discarded wood, which she predominantly painted black and sometimes white or gold. Nevelson also experimented with other materials and motifs, including works on paper, printmaking, and jewelry that range from abstracted geometric shapes to portraiture and still life. Typically rendered with minimal color or a muted color palette, Nevelson's works, however, challenged the conventions of the field of Abstract Expressionism, which traditionally favored painting and bright color. Nevelson's monumental sculptures and installations not only influenced women sculptors of the 1960s and 1970s, but continue to play an integral role in the field of Feminist art history.