Lecture: The Other Betty Parsons Gallery by Rachel Federman
Press release by Alexander Gray Associates, New York
Poster courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York
“The Other Betty Parsons Gallery”
Lecture by Art Historian and Curator Rachel Federman
Alexander Gray Associates at New York
Saturday, February 15, 2025
11:00 AM
Free entry
Join us at Alexander Gray Associates, New York, for a lecture, “The Other Betty Parsons Gallery,” by art historian and curator Rachel Federman on Saturday, February 15, at 11:00 AM. The lecture is organized on the occasion of Betty Parsons: Reverberation, the artist’s fourth solo exhibition with the Gallery, showcasing rarely seen paintings and works on paper from the 1960s.
Betty Parsons (1900–1982) is known as one of the twentieth century’s most influential gallerists. She is celebrated for her early recognition of Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman, artists who became synonymous with the abstract expressionist movement. But there was much more going on at the Betty Parsons Gallery than this fact alone would suggest. Federman’s lecture goes beyond the legend to explore the broad range of artists, including many women and queer artists, whom Parsons embraced.
While presenting groundbreaking exhibitions, Parsons continuously and tirelessly created her own art. A devoted proponent of abstraction, in her own work she sought to capture what she called “sheer energy” and “the new spirit.” Her spontaneous compositions—characterized by impulsive brushstrokes, curvilinear shapes, and vivid colors—evoke distinct emotional states, tapping into metaphysical and spiritual themes.
Reverberation, by Betty Parsons 1968 (detail), Acrylic on canvas, 110 1/4 x 49 3/4 in (280 x 126.4 cm)
Rachel Federman is an art historian, writer, and curator. She previously worked at the Morgan Library & Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she curated solo exhibitions of Bruce Conner, Maurice Sendak, Bridget Riley, and the previously unknown Beat-era draftsman Rick Barton. Most recently, she curated “Helène Aylon: Undercurrent,” at Princeton University Art Museum. Rachel has published essays on Bruce Conner, Jean Conner, Betye Saar, Jay DeFeo, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul McCarthy, and Allen Ruppersberg, among others. She is currently writing a biography of Betty Parsons. Rachel holds a PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
Betty Parsons (b.1900, New York, NY – d.1982, Southold, NY) was an abstract painter and sculptor who is best known as a dealer of mid-century art. Throughout her storied career as a gallerist, she maintained a rigorous artistic practice by creating works in a variety of media including paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Parsons’s eye for innovative talent stemmed from her own artistic training, and her commitment to championing new and emerging artists of her time impacted the canon of twentieth-century art in the United States.
Parsons’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including at Marion Art Center, MA (2022); Art Omi, Ghent, NY (2018); The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY (1992); the Montclair Museum of Art, NJ (1974); and Whitechapel Gallery, London (1968), among others. Her work has been included in group exhibitions including Friends in a Field: Conversations with Raoul De Keyser, Mu.ZEE, Oostende, Belgium (2022); ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM REVISITED, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY (2019), and People, Places and Things, Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY (2005), among others. Parsons’s work is represented in the collections of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, NY; High Museum, Atlanta, GA; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others. The Betty Parsons Estate is also represented by Alison Jacques, London.
Related Link
Betty Parsons: Reverberation at Alexander Gray Associates, New York.