Outside/In: Morris Hirshfield and Piet Mondrian in 1940s New York

On the face of it, Piet Mondrian would seem to have little in common with the self-taught painter Morris Hirshfield beyond the fact that both were active in 1940s New York. As we argue, however, the trajectories of the two painters dovetailed in ways that trouble the categorical boundaries of modernist art history (figuration vs. abstraction, European vs. American) and the prevailing narratives of art circa 1942. Notwithstanding his recognition at the time, Mondrian was by no means a quintessential insider to the New York art world. He had difficulty finding buyers for his work even at rock-bottom prices, and was frequently ridiculed by his Surrealist colleagues, despite their shared emigré status. Hirshfield, a former tailor and slipper manufacturer, appeared as an utter outsider to the elite art world. Against all odds, however, his wildly stylized paintings became internationally recognized, embraced by famous artists, including Picasso and --yes -- Mondrian, displayed in The First Papers of Surrealism, and purchased by vanguard collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim. Both Mondrian and Hirshfield were promoted by Sidney Janis who, as a dealer, was instrumental in placing their pictures in museums and private collections. Mondrian expressed admiration for Hirshfield’s paintings though this sentiment was not, according to Janis, reciprocated. The unlikely dialogue between Mondrian and Hirshfield outstrips accounts of vanguard art in the 1940s, organized according to pictorial style, artistic aims, and recognized movements.