Photo from Internet |
Joan differed from other members of this New York-based group by moving to Paris, after she had established her reputation. She continued to participate in the New York art scene, but her studio was in a suburb of Paris, and she produced most of her famous works there.
Background: She was born to a wealthy family in Chicago, attended a progressive, private school, and was educated in literature and art by her mother, who was the co-editor of a poetry magazine. Her father was a dermatologist and an amateur artist.
Training: After studying English literature for a couple of years, Joan earned both a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the Art Institute in Chicago.
Career: From 1950 to 1955 she had a studio in New York, where she was quickly accepted by the in-group of Abstract Expressionist painters.
Her large, abstract canvases are related to landscapes, and their appeal is said to lie in the expressiveness of the individual marks of paint, some brushed, others dabbled or dripped.
Private life: At 23 she married a publisher; the stormy union lasted only a year.
In 1955, when she was 29, she moved to France to join her lover, a Canadian painter named Jean-Paul Riopelle. He was Canada's foremost abstractionist and internationally famous as well. Joan and Paul she had a long and tumultuous relationship; they maintained separate homes and studios, but it is said that they dined and drank together daily.
Here's a sample of his work.
Jean-Paul Riopelle Untitled, 1951 Private collection / Internet |
Untitled, 1953 Crystal Bridges / Jan's photo |
East Ninth Street, 1956 LACMA / Jan's photo |
Hemlock, 1956 Whitney / Jan's photo |
East Ninth Street, 1956 LACMA / Jan's photo 2017 |
George Went Swimming at Banes Hole, but it Got Too Cold, 1957 Albright-Knox / Jan's photo |
August, Rue de Guerre, 1957 Phillips Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2006 |
Untitled, 1960 Milwaukee Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2013 |
Untitled, 1960 Philadelphia / Jan's photo |
Chamonix, c. 1962 MFA / Jan's photo |
Blue Tree, 1964 Worcester / Jan's photo |
Terrain Vague, 1965 San Diego / Jan's photo, 2017 |
Salut Torn, 1979 National Gallery, Corcoran Collection Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2006 |
Wood, Wind, No Tuba, 1980 MOMA / Jan's photo |
Before, Again IV, 1985 Anderson Collection / Jan's |
Harm’s Way, 1987 SFMOMA / Jan's photo |
Ici, 1992 St. Louis / Jan's photo |