Betty Parsons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Betty Parsons
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Betty Parsons photographed by Lynn Gilbert (1977)
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| Born |
Betty Bierne Pierson
January 31, 1900 New York, New York
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| Died | July 23, 1982 (aged 82) New York, New York
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Académie de la Grande Chaumière |
| Known for | Painting, Art Dealer, Art Collector |
| Movement | Abstract Expressionism |
| Spouse(s) |
Schuyler Livingston Parsons
(m. 1919–1922) |
| Partner(s) | Adge Baker |
Betty Parsons (born Betty Bierne Pierson, January 31, 1900 – July 23, 1982) was an American artist, art dealer, and collector. She was very important in helping a new art style called Abstract Expressionism become popular. Many people see her as one of the most important people in American art during her time.
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Early Life and Art Education
Betty Bierne Pierson was born on January 31, 1900. She was the second of three daughters. Her family was wealthy and lived in New York City. They also spent time in Newport, Palm Beach, and Paris.
When Betty was ten, she went to Miss Chapin's school in New York. She stayed there for five years. She often found school boring. In 1913, Parsons visited the Armory Show, a big art exhibition. She loved the modern art she saw there. She later said it was "exciting, full of color and life." This visit made her decide she wanted to be involved in art.
Her parents did not approve of her art interest. But she soon began studying art with Gutzon Borglum. She felt he was not a good teacher.
In 1919, Parsons married Schuyler Livingston Parsons. He was a wealthy man from New York City. Her family hoped she would live a traditional life. However, they divorced in Paris three years later. After the divorce, her family stopped supporting her financially.
Parsons stayed in Paris and studied art at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. She learned from sculptors like Émile-Antoine Bourdelle and Ossip Zadkine. In the summers, she painted with Arthur Lindsey in Brittany. She bought a small house in Montparnasse. She lived there with a British art student, Adge Baker. They remained friends for life, even after they stopped living together in 1932.
In 1933, Parsons returned to America. She had lost her financial support because of the Great Depression. She first went to Santa Barbara, California. There, she taught sculpture classes for a short time. In 1936, she moved back to New York. She had her first art show there at Midtown Gallery. Her watercolor paintings were well-liked. One review called them "delightful." She had nine more shows at Midtown over the next twenty years.
Working in Art Galleries
After her art show, the owner of Midtown Galleries, Alan Bruskin, offered Parsons a job. She sold art for him. This job did not last long. In 1937, Parsons started working at the gallery of Mrs. Cornelius J. Sullivan. Mrs. Sullivan helped start the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
In 1940, Parsons left Sullivan's gallery. She began managing a modern art gallery. It was inside the Wakefield Bookshop. This was her first time managing a gallery on her own. She could choose all the artists and shows. She soon worked with many artists. These included Saul Steinberg, Adolph Gottlieb, Alfonso Ossorio, Hedda Sterne, Theodoros Stamos, and Joseph Cornell.
In 1944, Parsons was asked to start a new art section. This was for art dealer Mortimer Brandt's gallery. After the war, Brandt moved to England. Parsons then rented the space from him. Her artist friends encouraged her to open her own gallery.
Betty Parsons Gallery
The Betty Parsons Gallery opened in 1946. It was at 15 East 57th Street in Manhattan. The gallery usually had twelve shows each season. These ran from September to May. Each show lasted only two to three weeks.
At that time, not many people bought modern American art. Parsons was one of the few dealers who would show artists like Jackson Pollock. This happened after Peggy Guggenheim closed her gallery in 1947. Parsons showed art by many famous artists. These included William Congdon, Clyfford Still, Theodoros Stamos, Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko, Hedda Sterne, Forrest Bess, Michael Loew, Lyman Kipp, Judith Godwin, and Robert Rauschenberg.
In 1950, she gave Barnett Newman his first solo show. Rothko and Tony Smith helped set up the art. In the late 1950s, Smith and Newman helped redesign Parsons' gallery. They made the main room almost cube-shaped. It had white walls and a concrete floor. This design fit their art well.
The painter Helen Frankenthaler met Parsons in 1950. She said, "Betty and her gallery helped build the center of the art world." Many of the Abstract Expressionist artists she helped became famous. They later moved to bigger, more commercial galleries. Art critic B. H. Friedman noted that Parsons felt sad about this. She had worked hard to help them, and other dealers benefited from her efforts.
Later, she focused on a younger group of American artists. These included Mino Argento, José Bernal, Ib Benoh, Jasper Johns, Agnes Martin, Richard Pousette-Dart, Jeanne Reynal, Walter Tandy Murch, Leon Polk Smith, Richard Tuttle, Robert Yasuda, Jack Youngerman, and Oliver Steindecker. She ran the gallery until she passed away in 1982. Her assistant, Jack Tilton, then took over the space. Her friend, painter Lee Hall, became a partner at the gallery in 1983. Hall later wrote a book about Parsons' life.
Helping Artists Grow
Parsons was very kind in helping artists. She always welcomed artists who brought their artwork to her. She was always encouraging and caring. She often gave advice about their art right away. Parsons also helped the artists who worked for her. She encouraged them to show their art at her gallery. Richard Tuttle had his first show a year after he started helping Betty Parsons. Thomas Nozkowski worked for her after college. Parsons showed his sculptures. In 1980, Ib Benoh became her assistant. That same year, she included him in a group show.
Artist and Sculptor
Parsons was also a painter. But she loved sculpture the most. She couldn't always afford to make large sculptures. In 1959, Tony Smith designed her house and studio. It was on the east end of Long Island, New York. It sat on a cliff overlooking Long Island Sound. Parsons worked on her art there when she was not at the gallery.
Her painting style changed in 1947. She started making bold, abstract art. She used pieces of wood and other materials. These washed up on the beach near her home. Her art often showed the area around her home. Sometimes, her pieces showed her travels to the Caribbean and other places.
During her life, Parsons had important art shows. These were at the Whitechapel Gallery in London (1968) and the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey (1974). She also had a show at Nigel Greenwood Gallery in London (1980). After she passed away, her paintings were shown. The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center showed her paintings on paper in 1992. That same year, the Fine Arts Gallery of Long Island University showed her painted wood "constructions." Her work has also been shown at other galleries. These include the Anita Shapolsky Gallery and Spanierman Gallery in New York.
Today, Parsons' art is represented by Alexander Gray Associates in New York. It is also represented by Alison Jacques Gallery in London.
Legacy and Collections
Betty Parsons' artwork is kept in many important museums. These include the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. It is also in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. Other places include The Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh also has her work. The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and the High Museum in Atlanta also own her art.
Her personal papers are kept at the Archives of American Art. These papers include records from the Betty Parsons Gallery.
Her picture is part of a famous poster from 1972. It is called Some Living American Women Artists. This poster was made by Mary Beth Edelson.
See also
