Skip to main content

Hans Hofmann Furniture

German, 1897-1957

The only artist of the New York school to participate directly in European modernism, Hans Hofmann became known as the major exponent of Abstract Expressionism.

Hans Hofmann paintings are known for their manic, exuberant energy. Among 20th-century masters, he was the first to consolidate and codify the lessons of modernism into a teaching system. Hofmann was also a widely influential art instructor with schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts. He was described by New York Times critic Clement Greenberg as "the most important teacher of our time" (Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art). Approximately six-thousand students studied modernist art with him, among the well-known names are Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Larry Rivers and Nell Blaine.

Hofmann was born in Weissenberg, Germany, showed a precocious interest in music and science, and had early training in mechanics while working for the Director of Public Works of Bavaria between 1896 and 1898. On that job, he invented the electromagnetic comptometer, the precursor of the adding machine.

Hofmann began to study art in 1898 in Munich where he was introduced to Impressionism. From 1904 to 1914, he studied in Paris and was exposed to many of the avant-garde artists and movements of that time including Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism. He was much taken with the exploration of pure color for its own sake, especially as investigated by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, and Delaunay. In Munich at the outbreak of World War I, he founded an art school and was highly successful until 1932 when he emigrated to America, having spent the summers in 1930 and 1931 teaching at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1932, he began teaching at the Arts Students League in New York and the following year opened his own schools in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

During the 1930s and 1940s, American Scene painting was prevalent, but Hofmann resisted that style, staying with the modernism to which he had been exposed in Europe. Hence he was later credited as a courageous pioneer in America of European modern art. He closed both of his schools in 1958 so he could devote himself full time to his own painting. He died in New York City in 1966.

Hofmann said he always based his paintings on the subject of nature, and he used vivid colors such as bright blues, greens oranges and yellows and applied them with palette knives in long slashing strokes. He viewed the surface of the canvas as alive, responsive, and active, often with opposing forces which he created with his theory of "push and pull," and which is closely tied to theories of Paul Cezanne. He also experimented with dripping paint onto the canvas, a method Jackson Pollock learned and later made famous.

Find original Hans Hofmann art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Fine Art San Diego)

to
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
17
12,608
3,593
2,603
2,347
Creator: Hans Hofmann
Vtg Signed Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Ltd Ed 250 Emmerich Gallery
Vtg Signed Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Ltd Ed 250 Emmerich Gallery

Vtg Signed Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Ltd Ed 250 Emmerich Gallery

By Hans Hofmann

Located in St.Petersburg, FL

Vintage Original Hans Hofmann "Exabundantia, 1964” Signed Emmerich Gallery, New York. Exhibition Lithograph Poster. 1980 Framed. Limited Edition of 250. This Centennial Exhibiti...

Category

1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Metal

70s XL Original Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Emmerich Gallery NYC
70s XL Original Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Emmerich Gallery NYC

70s XL Original Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster Emmerich Gallery NYC

By Hans Hofmann

Located in St.Petersburg, FL

Very Rare, Sensational, Oversized, and Vibrant. This Original 1974 Hans Hofmann Exhibition Lithograph Poster was created for his retrospective at the world renowned Andre Emmeric...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Related Items
Rare Signed Alvin Loving Poster Exhibition at William Zierler Gallery
Rare Signed Alvin Loving Poster Exhibition at William Zierler Gallery

Rare Signed Alvin Loving Poster Exhibition at William Zierler Gallery

Located in New York, NY

Framed, signed poster by Alvin Loving (1935-2005). Below is an excerpt from an online source. Detroit-born Loving earned an MFA from the University of Michigan in 1965. He began hard edge painting of cubes and hexagons in 1967. After his first one-person exhibition at Gertrude Kasle gallery in Detroit in 1969, Loving launched his New York career. Gertrude Kasle provided Loving with letters of introduction to Harold Hart of Martha Jackson Gallery and Steven Wilde and Bert Walker, curators at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he was given a critically acclaimed, one-person exhibition in 1969. Loving was the first of a group of African-American artists whose work was shown at the Whitney during the 1970s, including Frank Bowling, Frederick Eversley, Melvin Edwards...

Category

1970s Modern Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Chrome

Original Italian Art Exhibition Poster - Ferruccio Garopesani
Original Italian Art Exhibition Poster - Ferruccio Garopesani

Original Italian Art Exhibition Poster - Ferruccio Garopesani

$440Sale Price|20% Off

H 22.25 in W 16.63 in D 0.07 in

Original Italian Art Exhibition Poster - Ferruccio Garopesani

Located in Miami, FL

Original Italian art exhibition poster by painter and designer Ferruccio Garopesani. Presented in 1975 at the Galleria International d'Arte - Diorena - Ascona, Italy. A native of ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Framed Calder Galerie Maeght Lithograph  Poster Maeght Editeur - Arte Paris 70s
Framed Calder Galerie Maeght Lithograph  Poster Maeght Editeur - Arte Paris 70s

Framed Calder Galerie Maeght Lithograph Poster Maeght Editeur - Arte Paris 70s

By Calder, Galerie Maeght

Located in New York, NY

Bold, colorful and graphic Galerie Maeghgt Calder Poster by Maeght Editeur - Arte Paris. The poster is in it's original vintage frame with a blue mat border, aluminum frame and gla...

Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Sister Mary Corita Exhibition Poster/Announcement, Morris Gallery 1966
Sister Mary Corita Exhibition Poster/Announcement, Morris Gallery 1966

Sister Mary Corita Exhibition Poster/Announcement, Morris Gallery 1966

By Sister Corita

Located in New York, NY

Exhibition poster and announcement for a show of Sister Mary Corita Kent's new serigraphs held at New York City's Morris Gallery from December 7-31, 1966, ...

Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Original Paul Klee Mid-Century Lithograph Exhibition Poster, 1955
Original Paul Klee Mid-Century Lithograph Exhibition Poster, 1955

Original Paul Klee Mid-Century Lithograph Exhibition Poster, 1955

Located in Winter Park, FL

An original Mid Century French lithograph exhibition poster for Paul Klee, published by Galerie Berggruen & Cie, Paris. The design features a grid of colorful geometric squares, ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Canvas, Paper

Ernest Trova Pace Gallery New York 1967 Modern Lithographic Exhibition Poster
Ernest Trova Pace Gallery New York 1967 Modern Lithographic Exhibition Poster

Ernest Trova Pace Gallery New York 1967 Modern Lithographic Exhibition Poster

Located in Keego Harbor, MI

A modern lithographic poster featuring Ernest Trova at Pace Gallery New York in 1967. Published by Pace Editions. Ernest Tino Trova was a self-trained Am...

Category

1960s American Modern Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Victor Moscoso, Signed Vintage Exhibition Poster ‘Trippy World’
Victor Moscoso, Signed Vintage Exhibition Poster ‘Trippy World’

Victor Moscoso, Signed Vintage Exhibition Poster ‘Trippy World’

By Victor Moscoso

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Signed vintage Victor Moscoso exhibition poster Published in conjunction with 'Trippy World' - a 1999 exhibition held at Baron/Boisante gallery, New York. Off-set lithograph Measures: 16 x 20 inches Hand signed in pencil (lower right). Very good to excellent overall condition Signed First printing; 1999; acquired directly from Baron/Boisante. Victor Moscoso was among the most gifted and influential artists to emerge from the '60s counterculture, pioneering not only the psychedelic concert poster designs made famous during San Francisco's Summer of Love, but also making his mark in underground comix. Born in Spain and raised in Brooklyn, Moscoso attended Cooper Union Art School before studying at the Yale School of Art; he arrived on the west coast in 1959 to enroll at the San Francisco Art Institute, and after graduation remained at the school for another five years to teach lithography. Alongside Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson, Stanley Mouse, and Alton Kelley...

Category

1960s Bohemian Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Original Exhibition Rare Janus Gallery Poster Signed & Dated by James Havard
Original Exhibition Rare Janus Gallery Poster Signed & Dated by James Havard

Original Exhibition Rare Janus Gallery Poster Signed & Dated by James Havard

Located in San Diego, CA

A very rare signed and dated original exhibition poster signed by the artist, James Havard the poster has water damage at the bottom corner as shown but his signature it's ok, it can...

Category

20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Larry Clark Signed Gallery Exhibition Offset Lithograph Posters
Larry Clark Signed Gallery Exhibition Offset Lithograph Posters

Larry Clark Signed Gallery Exhibition Offset Lithograph Posters

By Larry Clark

Located in Atlanta, GA

Larry Clark Gallery exhibition offset lithograph posters, American, circa 1996. The poster on the left is signed by the artist. They are from the famed photographer, filmmaker, and a...

Category

1990s American Mid-Century Modern Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

Vintage Andy Warhol Skulls Exhibition Poster, Offset Lithograph, 1996
Vintage Andy Warhol Skulls Exhibition Poster, Offset Lithograph, 1996

Vintage Andy Warhol Skulls Exhibition Poster, Offset Lithograph, 1996

$200Sale Price|20% Off

H 33 in W 21 in D 0.025 in

Vintage Andy Warhol Skulls Exhibition Poster, Offset Lithograph, 1996

By (after) Andy Warhol

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Vintage Andy Warhol Skulls exhibition poster: London, 1996 Offset lithograph 21x33 inches Good overall vintage condition; contains fold lines as originally issued _ Andy Warhol...

Category

1990s Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Dom Hans van der Laan exhibition poster Maastricht 1982
Dom Hans van der Laan exhibition poster Maastricht 1982

Dom Hans van der Laan exhibition poster Maastricht 1982

By Dom Hans van der Laan

Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant

Exhibition poster for Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, 1982. Printed by Crouzen Maastricht, a company well known in Maastricht and surrounding. This rare exhibition poster was produced...

Category

1980s Dutch Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper

Previously Available Items
Original Oil on Paper Titled Upward Abstract Signed Hans Hofmann, 1946
Original Oil on Paper Titled Upward Abstract Signed Hans Hofmann, 1946

Original Oil on Paper Titled Upward Abstract Signed Hans Hofmann, 1946

By Hans Hofmann

Located in Keego Harbor, MI

For your consideration is original, framed, oil on paper painting, entitled "Upward," signed by Hans Hofmann, 1946. This piece done in typical Hofman abstract expressionist urban in ...

Category

1940s Vintage Hans Hofmann Furniture

Materials

Paper, Paint

Hans Hofmann furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Hans Hofmann furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs.