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Inv. n°: CL891

Nihilism

This object is on display at the FAMM . Come experience it in person.

Signed lower left, "M West" and signed verso, "Michael West 1949 nihilism. Abstract Expressionism.

h. 134.94 x w. 102.24 cm
1949
Oil, enamel, and sand on canvas

Provenance

  • Estate of the Artist
  • Michael Borghi Fine Art, New Jersey
  • Hollis Target, New York
  • Magis Collection, Minnesota
  • Acquired at Heather James Fine Art, San Francisco, 2020

Publications

  • E. Sattanni (ed.), Michael West, Uptown Galleries, Sacramento, 1957
  • C. McNamara (ed.), Michael West: Painter-Poet, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, New York, 1996
  • J. Marter (ed.), Women of Abstract Expressionism, Yale UP with Denver Art Museum, New Heaven, 2016, p. 24
  • E. G. Landau (ed.), Space Poetry: The Action Paintings of Michael West, Hollis Taggart, New York, 2019
  • Heather James Fine Art, Abstract Expressionist Women, February 4, 2020, pp. 30-31
  • K. Grovier, "Blinding Light: The 'Great American Painting?'", BBC Culture, October 5, 2020, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201002-blinding-light-the-great-american-painting
  • Hollis Taggart, in E. Landau (ed.), Michael West's Monochrome Climax, 2021, p. 9, fig. 5
  • "Restoration Conversations: Women Artists and the Abstract Revolution", The Florentine You Tube, April 21, 2021, [On-line]. Available at: https://youtu.be/tgdWylCx1Uk, 16:16
  • C. Marcel (ed.), Elles font l'abstraction, May 1, 2021, p. 151
  • H. Farrell & L. Falcone, "At Home with Christian and Florence Levett: Collecting Art and Women's Abstract Expressionism", The Florentine.net, May 5, 2021, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.theflorentine.net/2021/05/05/at-home-gallery-christian-florence-levett/
  • C. Marcel (ed.), Women in Abstraction, October 1, 2021
  • Jackie Wullschläger, "Whitechapel Gallery offers thrilling landmark show of female abstract artists — review", Financial Times, February 1, 2023, [On-line]. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/d5a8c1b5-1695-4970-b9f8-ef4b84ed8ea0
  • Ellen G. Landau & Joan M. Marter, Abstract Expressionists: The Women, London, 2023, pp. 179-181 (detail), p. 245
  • "When abstraction was an act of liberation", The Financial Times, London, February 1, 2023, p. 20
  • White Chapel, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Action, Geste, Peinture : Femmes dans l’abstraction, une histoire mondiale 1940-1970, Bice Curiger, 2023, p. 145
  • E.G. Landau, "The Strongest Gesture of All: Women Painters at FAMM, 1940-1970s", FAMM - Female Artists of the Mougins Museum, France, Merrell and FAMM, May 1, 2025, p. 120

Exhibitions

  • Michael West Paintings, Uptown Galleries, Sacramento, USA, November 1, 1957 — November 15, 1957
  • Michael West, Painter Poet, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, New York, USA, August 1, 1996 — October 26, 1996
  • Space Poetry, The Action Paintings of Michael West, Hollis Taggart Gallery, New York, USA, November 7, 2019 — December 21, 2019
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK, February 7, 2023 — May 14, 2023
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles, France, June 4, 2023 — October 22, 2023
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Kunstalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany, December 1, 2023 — March 1, 2024
  • FAMM (Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins), Mougins, France, mougins, France, From 21st June 2024 to present day
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas, USA, August 24, 2025 — November 16, 2025
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, January 30, 2026 — April 26, 2026
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, May 23, 2026 — August 30, 2026
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, Iowa, USA, September 19, 2026 — January 3, 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama, USA, January 30, 2027 — April 25, 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, The Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens, Pittsburgh, USA, June 12, 2027 — September 25, 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, The Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens, Pittsburgh, USA, June 12, 2027 — September 25, 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, USA, October 14, 2027 — March 5, 2028

© Michael (Corinne) West Estate

N.B. Our online collection is being continually updated thanks to ongoing research and documentation efforts carried out by the FAMM documentation team. Any additional information is welcome, please contact us.