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T H E E S T A T E O F Robert De Niro, Sr.
AT THE SOHO STUDIO, 1975
Biography
Robert De Niro, Sr. was part of the celebrated New York School of post-war
American artists. His work blended abstract and expressionist styles of
painting with traditional representational subject matter, bridging the divide
between European Modernism and Abstract Expressionism.
EARLY LIFE and EDUCATION
Born in 1922 in Syracuse, New York, showed artistic promise at a very early
age. Beginning at age 11, he attended art classes at the Syracuse Museum
for four years, where he was provided a private studio to paint independently.
In the summer of 1938, he studied with artist Ralph Pearson in Gloucester
Massachusetts. From there, he went on to study at the renowned Black
Mountain College under Josef Albers from 1939 to 1940. While Albers'
highly analytical approach to painting did not appeal to De Niro's more
instinctive style, the experience and international perspective of the Bauhaus
master nonetheless left a lasting impression. De Niro then studied with
Hans Hofmann in New York and at his Provincetown, Massachusetts
summer school through 1942. There he met fellow student Virginia Admiral,
whom he married in 1942. Hoffman's teaching, focused on Abstract
Expressionism and Cubist formalism, had a strong influence on De Niro's
development as a mature artist.
FAMILY
The couple surrounded themselves with an illustrious circle of friends,
including writers Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, playwright Tennessee
Williams, and Robert Duncan, the editor of Ritual, a literary magazine for
which Virginia worked. Admiral and De Niro separated shortly after their son,
Robert De Niro, Jr., was born in 1943.
CAREER
In 1945, DeNiro was included in the Fall exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's
Art of This Century Gallery on 57th Street in New York. Reviews of the
exhibition praised the work of DeNiro as well as Jackson Pollock and Mark
Rothko. He had his first solo exhibition at Art of This Century the following
year.
De Niro had a series of solo exhibitions in the 1950's at the Charles Egan
Gallery in New York, which exhibited the work of Willem de Kooning and
other early abstract expressionist artists. By the mid- 1950's, DeNiro was
regularly included in important group exhibitions such as the Whitney
Annual, the Stable Annual, and the Jewish Museum.
From 1961-1964, DeNiro traveled to France to paint in Paris and in the
surrounding countryside. Collector Joseph Hirshhorn purchased a number
of the artist's paintings and works on paper during this period through
DeNiro's gallerist, Virginia Zabriskie which are now in the permanent
collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington,
DC. In 1968, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
LATER CAREER
Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, DeNiro continued to exhibit in museums
and galleries throughout the United States, including New York, San
Francisco, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. He taught at
several art schools and colleges including the Cooper Union, the New
School for Social Research, the School of Visual Arts, and East Michigan
State College. Robert De Niro, Sr. died in 1993 in Manhattan.
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Robert De Niro, Sr. was part of the celebrated New York School of post-war
American artists. His work blended abstract and expressionist styles of
painting with traditional representational subject matter, bridging the divide
between European Modernism and Abstract Expressionism.
EARLY LIFE and EDUCATION
Born in 1922 in Syracuse, New York, showed artistic promise at a very early
age. Beginning at age 11, he attended art classes at the Syracuse Museum
for four years, where he was provided a private studio to paint independently.
In the summer of 1938, he studied with artist Ralph Pearson in Gloucester
Massachusetts. From there, he went on to study at the renowned Black
Mountain College under Josef Albers from 1939 to 1940. While Albers'
highly analytical approach to painting did not appeal to De Niro's more
instinctive style, the experience and international perspective of the Bauhaus
master nonetheless left a lasting impression. De Niro then studied with
Hans Hofmann in New York and at his Provincetown, Massachusetts
summer school through 1942. There he met fellow student Virginia Admiral,
whom he married in 1942. Hoffman's teaching, focused on Abstract
Expressionism and Cubist formalism, had a strong influence on De Niro's
development as a mature artist.
FAMILY
The couple surrounded themselves with an illustrious circle of friends,
including writers Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, playwright Tennessee
Williams, and Robert Duncan, the editor of Ritual, a literary magazine for
which Virginia worked. Admiral and De Niro separated shortly after their son,
Robert De Niro, Jr., was born in 1943.
CAREER
In 1945, DeNiro was included in the Fall exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's
Art of This Century Gallery on 57th Street in New York. Reviews of the
exhibition praised the work of DeNiro as well as Jackson Pollock and Mark
Rothko. He had his first solo exhibition at Art of This Century the following
year.
De Niro had a series of solo exhibitions in the 1950's at the Charles Egan
Gallery in New York, which exhibited the work of Willem de Kooning and
other early abstract expressionist artists. By the mid- 1950's, DeNiro was
regularly included in important group exhibitions such as the Whitney
Annual, the Stable Annual, and the Jewish Museum.
From 1961-1964, DeNiro traveled to France to paint in Paris and in the
surrounding countryside. Collector Joseph Hirshhorn purchased a number
of the artist's paintings and works on paper during this period through
DeNiro's gallerist, Virginia Zabriskie which are now in the permanent
collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington,
DC. In 1968, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
LATER CAREER
Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, DeNiro continued to exhibit in museums
and galleries throughout the United States, including New York, San
Francisco, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. He taught at
several art schools and colleges including the Cooper Union, the New
School for Social Research, the School of Visual Arts, and East Michigan
State College. Robert De Niro, Sr. died in 1993 in Manhattan.
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
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ROBERT DE NIRO, SR (left) STUDIED
WITH HANS HOFFMAN, 1939-1942.
WITH HANS HOFFMAN, 1939-1942.
DE NIRO, SR. (standing center,arms crossed)
WITH JOSEF ALBERS AT BLACK
MOUNTAIN COLLEGE,1939-1942
WITH JOSEF ALBERS AT BLACK
MOUNTAIN COLLEGE,1939-1942
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