• James Brooks (American, 1906–1992). R-1953, 1953, oil on canvas, 82 ½ x 89 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Gift of JPMorgan Chase, 2021.2.1.

    Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today

    September 27, 2026–February 14, 2027

  • Mary Abbott (American, 1921–2019). Kenscoff Mountains, ca. 1950, watercolor and gouache on paper, 26 x 19 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Gift of Dr. John E. Hunt and Carol Hunt, 2012.20.1.

  • Joanna Pousette-Dart (American, b. 1947). Untitled (From the Beatus Group), 1987, acrylic on canvas on two panels, 50 x 80 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Gift of Kay R. Lowe, 2003.2.

  • Claude Lawrence (American, b. 1944). Even More, 2002, gouache on paper, 12 x 18 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Gift of Auldlyn Higgins Williams and E.T. Williams, Jr., 2013.13.2.

  • Pat Steir (American, b. 1940). Triptych Sparkle, 2008, hand-painted monoprint on paper; 3 units, 72 x 72 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Gift of Laurence M. Rundie in memory of Mark N. Humphrey, 2020.10.

  • Suzanne McClelland (American, b. 1959). CUTS (forNever), 2023, polymer and oil on linen, 84 x 72 in. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Gift of the Artist, 2024.8.

For centuries, Long Island’s East End has been a hub of artistic innovation and cultural exchange, where artists have found inspiration in the region’s landscape and thriving arts community. Abstract Expressionism, while a movement established and developed in New York, had immeasurable significance on the East End of Long Island—taking shape in the summer of 1945 with Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner establishing their home base in Springs, NY. Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today examines how the Abstract Expressionist movement flourished on the East End, highlighting the many voices who contributed to the genre.

Drawn primarily from the Museum’s permanent collection, The East End, 1940 to Today begins in the mid-twentieth century, presenting the work of both the first- and second-generation Abstract Expressionists of the 1940s–60s. Featuring works by Mary Abbott, James Brooks, Elaine de Kooning, Perle Fine, Gertrude Greene, Lee Krasner, and Esteban Vicente, the presentation focuses on paintings made during the years in which the artists were living and working on the East End. This period also marks the growing relationships of the region, which saw Pollock and Krasner recommend Willem and Elaine de Kooning to stay with them at their house in Springs in the summer of 1948 and similarly, advocate for James Brooks and Charlotte Park to make the move from New York to the South Fork, which came to fruition in 1949.

The exhibition also spotlights the enduring influence of the Abstract Expressionist moment on the East End. Works by Willem de Kooning, John Opper, Betty Parsons, Joanna Pousette-Dart, and Syd Solomon highlight the moment after the rise of Abstract Expressionism, demonstrating a shifting style during the 1970s and 1980s. More recent works reveal how East End artists have continued to pursue and expand gestural painting from the 1990s to the present, including paintings by Claude Lawrence, Suzanne McClelland, Pat Steir, and Frank Wimberley among others.

Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today is part of the Museum’s USA250: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, a year-long program organized in response to the United States’ semiquincentennial in 2026. The USA250 exhibition series will reflect on the nation’s history and founding values, examine our present moment, and imagine new ways of moving forward, while recognizing the contributions of regional artists to the broader landscape of American art and culture. Responding to language in the Declaration of Independence that states “liberty” as one of the inalienable rights, Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today recognizes the contributions of regional artists to the broader landscape of American art and culture while pursuing their own freedom of expression.

Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today is organized by Kaitlin Halloran, Associate Curator and Publications Manager.

Exhibition Support
Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of Ellen Katz.

The Parrish Art Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.