Inv. n°: CL891

Nihilism

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

See more by this artist

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, 4th February 2020, pp. 30-31
  • K. Grovier, "Blinding Light: The 'Great American Painting?'", BBC Culture, 5th October 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, 21st April 2021, [On-line]. Available at: https://youtu.be/tgdWylCx1Uk, 16:16
  • C. Marcel (ed.), Elles font l'abstraction, May 2021, p. 151
  • H. Farrell & L. Falcone, "At Home with Christian and Florence Levett: Collecting Art and Women's Abstract Expressionism", The Florentine.net, 5th May 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 2021
  • Jackie Wullschläger, "Whitechapel Gallery offers thrilling landmark show of female abstract artists — review", Financial Times, 1st February 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, 1st February 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 2025, p. 120

Exhibitions

  • Michael West Paintings, Uptown Galleries, Sacramento, USA, 1st November 1957 — 15th November 1957
  • Michael West, Painter Poet, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, New York, USA, 1st August 1996 — 26th October 1996
  • Space Poetry, The Action Paintings of Michael West, Hollis Taggart Gallery, New York, USA, 7th November 2019 — 21st December 2019
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK, 7th February 2023 — 14th May 2023
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles, France, 4th June 2023 — 22nd October 2023
  • Action/Gesture/Paint: A Global Story of Women and Abstraction 1940-1970, Kunstalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany, December 2023 — March 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, 24th August 2025 — 16th November 2025
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, 30th January 2026 — 26th April 2026
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, 23rd May 2026 — 30th August 2026
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, Iowa, USA, 19th September 2026 — 3rd January 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama, USA, 30th January 2027 — 25th April 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, The Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens, Pittsburgh, USA, 12th June 2027 — 25th September 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, The Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens, Pittsburgh, USA, 12th June 2027 — 25th September 2027
  • Abstract Expressionists: The Women, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, USA, 14th October 2027 — 5th March 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 Levett Collection - FAMM documentation team. Any additional information is welcome, please contact us.