1947: Creating an American Scene

The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation is pleased to announce a collaboration with the New York Artists Equity Association (NYAE) for the exhibition 1947: Creating an American Scene (December 9–23, 2023). The exhibition will be installed at Equity Gallery (245 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002).

1947: Creating an American Scene pays tribute to NYAE’s forerunners, some famous, others lesser known, who had the radical foresight to establish an openly diverse artists association accessible to women, people of color, recent immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. 1947: Creating an American Scene will showcase works by founding NYAE members including Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Chaim Gross, Reginald Marsh, Louise Nevelson, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, the latter a Japanese immigrant who was the association’s first president. A preview of 1947: Creating an American Scene will be displayed at the Salmagundi Club (47 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003) on December 5, 2023 from 6–9 pm for a fundraising event benefiting NYAE. The fundraiser will honor Karen Wilkin, a New York-based independent curator and art critic specializing in 20th-century modernism.

1947: Creating an American Scene is curated jointly by the Foundation’s staff: Executive Director Sasha Davis and Collections and Programs Manager Brittany Cassandra. The Foundation has loaned 24 works from the collection. These include pieces by Romare Bearden, Theresa Bernstein, Henry Botkin, Byron Browne, Stuart Davis, Adolf Dehn, Chaim Gross, Robert Gwathmey, Lily Harmon, Jacob Lawrence, James Lechay, Jack Levine, Irving Marantz, Reginald Marsh, Louise Nevelson, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Harry Sternberg, and Max Weber. All were members of NYAE. Additionally, there are 6 works on loan from the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum (WAAM) by artists Henry Billings, Ernest Fiene, Nathanial Kaz, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Howard Mandel and a painting by Philip Reisman from ACA Galleries.