Perle Fine

1905 - 1988

Perle Fine may be one of the best knowN New York Abstract Expressionists you don't know much about. Clearly a determined individual, Perle Fine became a major figure of the post-war era. She was one of the first women to be admitted to the Artist's Club and, considering the social culture of this era, this was no small feat. By 1949 she already had an enviable exhibition record, which included solo exhibitions at Willard and Betty Parsons in New York and at San Francisco's de Young Museum.Fine was a long time member of the important American Abstract Artists group (AAA). Her education began in her native Boston before she enrolled at the Art Students League in 1935 and fell under the influence of Piet Mondrian. In 1939, she began working with Hans Hofmann, both in New York and at his summer school in Provincetown, MA. Fine broke with Hofmann's theories and sought to find her own, more calm and contemplative mode of expression. After 1970 she focused her efforts on a series of spare, elegant geometric works called Accordments.Fine remained active in the arts throughout her life, teaching at Cornell University and Hofstra University. She had more than 30 solo exhibitions and countless group showings and is represented in numerous museum and private collections. A traveling museum retrospective was organized in 2009 by Hofstra University where Fine had taught. In 2016 she was included in the ground breaking exhibition "Women of Abstract Expressionism" organized by Gwen Chanzit at the Denver Art Museum. The show traveled and a major book has been published by Yale University Press.

Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Perle at her show at Betty Parsons Gallery in 1952.
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c. 1945
ink, gouache and collage on graph paper
8 x 11 inches
#13902
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Perle at her show at Betty Parsons Gallery in 1952.
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c. 1945
ink, gouache and collage on graph paper
8 x 11 inches
#13902
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1960
oil on canvas
13 x 13 inches
Studio Estate Stamp verso
estate #605
#11278
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1959
pencil and collage on graph paper
8 x 11 inches
#13908
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1945
pencil and gouache on kraft paper
12 x 20 inches
#13913
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1945
gouache and ink on paper
12 x 16 inches
#13915
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Abstraction, 1948
gouache on paper
12 x 16 inches
#13919
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, 1945
gouache and ink on heavy paper
11 x 15 inches
signed and dated at lower right
#13920
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
template for "A King's Game" - wood collage, 1965
graphite and colored pencil on paper
28 x 26 inches
signed at lower right; Estate stamped verso
#11301
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, 1957
graphite and paper mounted to museum board
18 x 30 inches
signed and dated at lower right
#10791
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, 1946
gouache on paper
25 x 19 inches
#13925
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Maze (Ariel Map), 1947
gouache on paper
22 x 31 inches
signed and dated at lower right
Estate stamped and numbered verso: #29
#13980
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, 1961
gouache and collage on paper
10 x 7 inches
Studio Estate Stamp verso
#11297
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1957
graphite and collage on graph paper
8 1/2 x 11 inches
Studio Estate Stamp verso
#11283
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1955
ink on paper
18 x 24 inches
estate stamped signature at lower right; estate stamp verso
#11300
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, 1960
graphite and colored pencil on paper
14 x 18 inches
Estate stamped signature at lower right; Studio estate stamp verso
#11286
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Untitled, c.1945
white chalk on black paper
18 x 12 3/4 inches
signed at lower right; studio stamped verso
#10792
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Study for Theseus, 1959
collage and graphite on graph paper
8 x 11 inches
Studio Estate Stamp verso
#11295
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Complete Abandon, 1944
softground etching on paper
6 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches
Unsigned proof; Estate stamped verso
#13173
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
In Flight, 1967
lithograph, 9/20
20 x 24 inches
signed and titled at lower right
#13947
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Wide to the Wind, 1955
color woodcut printed on Japan paper
11 x 25 inches
proof impression apart fom the eddition of 20
#13940
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Carousel, 1944
etching and drypoint on paper
7 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches
Unsigned proof; Estate stamped verso
#13172
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Omnipotent One, 1944-46
etching
7 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches
unsigned impression
#12220
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Weathervane, 1944
etching and drypoint
5 3/8 x 5 inches
edition of 30, unsigned impression
#12219
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Deep of the Night, 1944
etching and drypoint
7 7/8 x 5 5/8 inches
unsigned proof
#12216
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Calm After the Storm, 1944
etching and drypoint
7 7/8 x 5 7/8 inches
edtion of 30; signed and numbered
#12215
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Wither Within, 1950
lithograph and collage
15 x 11 inches
signed verso
#13912
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Carousel, 1944
etching and drypoint
7 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches
edtion of 30; signed and numbered
#12213
Perle Fine (1905 - 1988)
Complete Abandon, 1944
softground and line etching
6 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches
signed at lower right; studio stamped verso
#7647