WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Adolph Gottlieb

Adolph Gottlieb

Adolph Gottlieb

1903–1974

WA-00005625

PaintingAbstract ExpressionismExpressionism

Representation

None documented

24

Institutional Exhibitions

41

Works in Collection

84

Assets Indexed

16

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ365388

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Master Prints from the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1989

No image

Master Prints from the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1987–1988

No image

Tatyana Grosman Gallery Inaugural Installation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Philip Johnson: Selected Gifts

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985

No image

Prints: Acquisitions 1977�1981

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1981–1982

No image

Selections from the Art Lending Service

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Adolph Gottlieb, 1903�1974

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974

No image

American Prints from the International Program

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

The New American Painting and Sculpture: The First Generation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1969

No image

Twentieth-Century Art from the Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1969

No image

Dada, Surrealism and their Heritage

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968

Field Verification (7 fields)

5 cross-verified · 2 single-source

DeceasedWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Primary mediumWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Birth yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Death yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
BiographyWikipedia + Unknown· 88%✓
NationalityWikidata + Artsy+1· 92%
LocationArtsy + Wikidata+1· 85%

Source Registry (4)

Pace-Galleryhttps://www.pacegallery.com/artists/
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/adolph-gottlieb
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Sothebyshttps://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/adolph-gottlieb
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2268
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Adolph Gottlieb developed a distinctive abstract vocabulary combining gestural mark-making with biomorphic forms, working across painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Born in New York in 1903, he emerged as a central figure in abstract expressionism, moving from early figuration through increasingly nonrepresentational work that balanced intuitive gesture with compositional rigor. His paintings often feature energetic linear elements and organic shapes suspended in shallow pictorial space, creating tension between spontaneity and formal control.

Source: Pace Gallery · Trust score: 100% · Updated 2mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Abstract Expressionism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York The Metropolitan Museum of Art Tate Whitney Museum of American Art

Canonical record

Artworks (41)

Untitled

1972 · Color aquatint on white wove paper

Plate: 56.5 × 44.5 cm (22 1/4 × 17 9/16 in.); Sheet: 80 × 60 cm (31 1/2 × 23 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled from Prints for Phoenix House

Untitled from Prints for Phoenix House

1972 · Aquatint from a portfolio of three lithographs, two photogravures, two screenprints with stencil and varnish additions, one aquatint, one etching and aquatint, and one screenprint

plate: 23 3/4 x 17 7/8" (60.3 x 45.4cm); sheet: 31 7/8 x 24" (81 x 61cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Blues on Green

1971 · Screenprint on paper

Untitled

1971 · Color aquatint on paper

Image/plate: 44.6 × 60.5 cm (17 9/16 × 23 7/8 in.); Sheet: 67 × 83 cm (26 7/16 × 32 11/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled from Flight

Untitled from Flight

1969 · Lithograph from a portfolio of eleven lithographs and one screenprint

composition: 24 13/16 × 19 1/16" (63.1 × 48.4 cm); sheet: 25 11/16 × 20 1/16" (65.2 × 51 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Petaloid-Negative

1968 · Corten steel

62 in. × 10 ft. × 4 in. (157.5 × 304.8 × 10.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jetsam

1967 · Color screenprint on cream wove paper

61 × 45.8 cm (24 1/16 × 18 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chrome Yellow, Green Disc

Chrome Yellow, Green Disc

1966 · Lithograph

composition and sheet: 29 7/8 x 22 1/16" (75.9 x 56cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Green Ground, Blue Disc

Green Ground, Blue Disc

1966 · Screenprint

composition and sheet: 23 15/16 x 18" (60.8 x 45.7cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Black Ground, Red Disc

Black Ground, Red Disc

1966 · Screenprint

composition and sheet: 28 1/4 x 19 15/16" (71.8 x 50.7cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Above and Below, I

Above and Below, I

1964 · Oil on canvas

7' 6" x 9' (220.5 x 274.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1964 · Oil on canvas

48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Primeval

1962 · Oil on canvas

213.4 × 228 cm (84 × 89 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Blast, I

1957 · Oil on canvas

7' 6" x 45 1/8" (228.7 x 114.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1957 · Oil on canvas

59 3/8 × 41 7/8 in. (150.8 × 106.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Descending Arrow

Descending Arrow

1956 · Oil on canvas

8' x 6' (243.5 x 182.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1956 · Black ink on paper

22 1/4 × 30 3/4 in. (56.5 × 78.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Composition

1955 · Oil on canvas

6' 1/8" x 60 1/8" (183.3 x 152.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Unstill Life, III

Unstill Life, III

1954 · Oil on canvas

6' 8" x 15' 5 1/4" (203 x 470.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Flotsam at Noon

Flotsam at Noon

1952 · Oil on canvas

36 1/8 x 48" (91.7 x 121.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Tournament

1951 · Oil on canvas

60 1/8" x 6' 1/8" (152.6 x 183 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Labyrinth No. 2

Labyrinth No. 2

1950 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 914 x 1219 mm frame: 942 x 1247 x 60 mm

1950 · Oil on canvas

48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Man Looking at Woman

Man Looking at Woman

1949 · Oil on canvas

42 x 54" (106.6 x 137.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 41 artworks →

Artwork sources (6)

41 published of 65 catalogued · 54 with image

MoMA
23 publishedof 46 catalogued43 img
The Met
7 published
Art Institute Chicago
7 published7 img
Tate
3 published3 img
Whitney
1 published
+ 1 more source · 1 catalogued, not yet published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

3 entries · 1 sources

Labyrinth No. 2
1950 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Blues on Green
1971 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Alchemist
1945 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

14 assets

Artsy artwork: Untitled (1974)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Untitled (1966)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Flurry (1967)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Saturnalia (1962)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Interpenetration (1954)

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Burst #3

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Untitled

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Adolph Gottlieb - Guild Hall is for Everyone (1970)

Artsy

View all 14 media items →

Relationships

10

Movements2

Abstract Expressionism Expressionism

Collections8

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art Tate Whitney Museum of American Art Christie's

Institutional

Representation & Collections

Gallery

Pace Gallery

In collection

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Tate

In collection

Whitney Museum of American Art

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Background

Education

Parsons School of Design

Visual Arts

Art Students League of New York

Visual Arts

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Visual Arts

Cooper Union

Visual Arts