Betty Parsons Exhibited Women Artists Who Never Got Recognition
Betty Parsons
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Artist and gallerist Betty Parsons began her gallery in 1946 at the site of the Mortimer Brandt Gallery where she previously worked. She exhibited and championed all the Abstract Expressionists of the period, including Jackson Pollock, Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Robert Rauschenberg. After exposure to this exciting, diverse, experimental environment, she explored these avant-garde influences in her own painting. They became larger and her palette contained a wide range of color. She recorded her explorations of nature with radiant light in the 50’s paintings. In the 60’s she changed her medium to acrylic, resulting in a flatter surface of brilliant color.
As a dealer, Betty didn’t exhibit her own paintings; many of her artists didn’t even know that she also was an artist. She was with the Midtown Gallery and didn’t show very often in the 50’s. In the 60’s she had several museum and university exhibitions. In 1968, she was exhibited at London’s Whitechapel Gallery and became an international artist. Her private art collection of 300 works traveled around America.
In the late 60’s Betty started working on the found wood constructions at her home on the beach in Southold, L.I. She picked up “carpenter throwaways”. …
Artist and gallerist Betty Parsons began her gallery in 1946 at the site of the Mortimer Brandt Gallery where she previously worked. She exhibited and championed all the Abstract Expressionists of the period, including Jackson Pollock, Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Robert Rauschenberg. After exposure to this exciting, diverse, experimental environment, she explored these avant-garde influences in her own painting. They became larger and her palette contained a wide range of color. She recorded her explorations of nature with radiant light in the 50’s paintings. In the 60’s she changed her medium to acrylic, resulting in a flatter surface of brilliant color.
As a dealer, Betty didn’t exhibit her own paintings; many of her artists didn’t even know that she also was an artist. She was with the Midtown Gallery and didn’t show very often in the 50’s. In the 60’s she had several museum and university exhibitions. In 1968, she was exhibited at London’s Whitechapel Gallery and became an international artist. Her private art collection of 300 works traveled around America.
In the late 60’s Betty started working on the found wood constructions at her home on the beach in Southold, L.I. She picked up “carpenter throwaways”. Many people consider her sculptures her best-known works. Many go back to her original interest in the Indian Space Painters who linked Native American art and modernism. A talented artist, dealer and collector, Betty Parsons took chances and exhibited the work of artists that she believed should be seen, not just for commercial value.
Courtesy of Anita Shapolsky
Born 1900
Hometown New York, NY
Lives and Works New York, NY
Permanent Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.
Works Available for Purchase
No works
