The New York School, 1969:
Henry Geldzahler at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

By the early 60’s, the genealogy of Abstract Expressionism had evolved to the fifth generation and new, unknown artists were finding fertile ground in a very rough-edged SOHO.  By the end of the decade that melee had hardened into discreet “isms.” It was then that curator Henry Geldzahler – cajoling, wheedling, loudly threatening obscurity and irrelevance – convinced the Met into presenting the exhaustively comprehensive survey show New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970.

Geldzahler took over half the museum, more than 40 galleries, with 408 art works. With taxonomic precision he delineated the thought and personalities that defined the New York School, specifying a broad horizon that stretched from Jackson Pollock to Andy Warhol. New York was the literal and metaphorical center of the arts, and Geldzahler included every artist that added a vital component to the party.

This exhibition is at Paul Kasmin Gallery not the Met. It comes 44 years later. But to see the shadow is to grasp the fierce and joyful intelligence of Henry Geldzahler. If you were not yet born in 1969, this show is a reminder that a great curator can change the way the future sees.