FOREWARD

DURING THE PAST TEN YEARS SERIOUS ATTENTION HAS FOCUSED ON THE American Abstract Artists. Formed in 1937, to promote abstraction in the United States, the group's accomplishments were ecliped after World War II by the emergence of Abstract Expressionism. During the 1970's, scholars began to reaccess the work of the American Abstract Artists and to reexamine the forces that shaped the artistic decisions of its members. Since then, collectors, the art press, and the marketplace have rediscovered this fascinating period. As a result, many early members of the American Abstract Artists are finally receiving long-overdue recognition.

When Patricia and Phillip Frost began collecting work by members of the American Abstract Artists, they brought a unique perspective and dedication to their search. Many paintings came through dealers, especially Martin Diamond and Joan Washburn, who had long championed abstraction of the 1930s. Dr. and Mrs. Frost discovered others on their own, by visiting artists, seeking out family members, and, in the case of Beckford Young's remarkable Construction, by delving into forgotten corners of dusty basement storerooms. From the beginning their committment was to the members of the American Abstract Artists, although occasionally they acquired work by unaffiliated artists--Raymond Jonson, Emil Bisstram, and Ed Garman of the Transcendental Painting Group in New Mexico; Milton Avery and Hans Hoffmann--who explored similar paths or exerted significant influence on the directions abstract artists pursued during the 1930s and early 1940s. Dr. and Mrs. Frost also sought out works that offered some special insight into the experimental nature of abstraction during the 1930s, and in some cases bought paintings that represented an artist's "alternative side"--expressionistic, figurative-based compositions that did not dovetail with the geometric approach usually associated with the American Abstract Artists.

In addition to their acute sense of historical moment, the Frosts also became friends with many of the artists whose work they collected, inviting them to their home in Miami Beach for salon-style dinner parties and helping to make their work more widely known.

Their decision in 1986 to present the collection to the National Museum of American Art marked a milestone for the museum. The NMAA collection has long been rich in figurative painting in the 1930s. But developing a significant collection of abstract art from these years seemed increasingly elusive. Through the generosity of Patricia and Phillip Frost, it is now possible for the National Museum of American Art to present the multiple crosscurrents in American art of the 1930s and early 1940s.

It has been a special priviledge to work with Dr. and Mrs. Frost and a pleasure to have met the artists and others who have generously contributed their time and knowledge. I am very grateful to Stephen Browne. Giorgio Cavallon, Charlotte Cushman, Eleanor DeLaittre, Martin and Harriette Diamond, Herzl Emanuel, Ed Garman, Dwinell Grant, Balcomb Greene, Hananiah Harari, Fannie Hillsmith, Germoe Kamrowski, Ibram Lassaw, Emily Mason, George McNeil, John Opper, Joel Schanker, Verna Sennhauser, Esphyr Slobodkina, Gail Stavitsky, Ann Vytacil, and Frederick Whiteman for the friendship and hospitality each showed during our conversations. The contributions of research assistants Mary Virginia Drach and Sonita Singwi were exceptional, as were those of NMAA intern Margaret Morse and volunteer Leo LeMaire. I would especially like to thank intern Catherine Groos, who drafted biographical entries on Gerome Kamrowski, Alice Trumbull Mason, and Charles Shaw. The assistance of my colleagues at the National Museum of American Art, especially former director Charles C. Eldridge, and the Archives of American Art has been, as always, remarkable.

I would particularly like to thank the Smithsonian Institution's Special Exhibition Fund for supporting the exhibition, catalogue, and interpretive programming, and the Scholarly Studies Program for supporting research on American abstraction during this fascinating period.

Our most sincere appreciation to Patricia and Phillip Frost for their generous support of the exhibition publication and related program.

Virginia M. Meckenburg