Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
June 2002
The Whitney Museum of American Art presents a retrospective of one of the twentieth century’s most prodigious artists, Joan Mitchell. The exhibition surveys the artist’s paintings from 1969 to 1973, aiming to secure her rightful place in the pantheon of (otherwise heavily masculine) abstract expressionist painters. The survey, envisioned by curators Jane Livingston and Marla Prather, features fifty-nine paintings—immersing the viewer in the intensity and vivacity of Joan Mitchell’s authoritative yet sensitive gesture. This exhibition is accompanied by an expansive catalogue featuring essays from the art historians Jane Livingston, Linda Nochlin, and Yvette Lee. Livingston draws from Mitchell’s personal papers, including her journals and extensive correspondence, to provide an illuminating interpretation of the artist and her work. Nochlin, who was a friend of Mitchell’s, discusses the artist’s experience working in a field dominated by men. A third text by Lee explores a distinctive and little-known suite of paintings entitled La Grande Vallée, created in 1983–1984. This book includes an exhibition history; an extensive artist bibliography of related monographs, reviews, and filmed interviews; and color plates and listing of all the works appearing in the exhibition.