Judith Rothschild

Untitled, female NY Ab-Ex artist, 1940s gouache and ink on paper

c.1945

Judith Rothschild 1921 - New York 1– 1993 Untitled Circa 1945 Gouache, watercolor and ink with Collage on blue paper 9 x 12 inches (23 x 30.5 cm) Framed: 16 ½ x 19 ½ inches (42 x 49 cm) Provenance: The Artist The Judith Rothschild Foundation, Philadelphia Private Collection, Chicago Judith Rothschild was born in 1921 in New York City. Drawn to the visual arts early on, she pursued formal training at various New York institutions where she was encouraged to explore abstraction. Her early development reflects a blend of disciplined academic study and exposure to the radical shifts occurring in American art during the 1930s and 1940s. These years laid the foundation for her lifelong interest in nonobjective painting and her approach to structure and form as well as a commitment to abstract expressionism. By the 1950s, Rothschild’s style shifted into a distinctive mode of abstraction marked by crisp geometric shapes, vibrant colors, and refined spatial relationships. Throughout the following decades, Rothschild spent most of her time in isolation in Monterey, California, where she hoped to further develop her style away from New York City. Throughout her career, Rothschild’s work was exhibited in galleries such as Knoedler Company, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and the Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal, Germany. She became a trustee at the American Federation of Arts and served as a guest artist at the Pratt Institute and Rhode Island School of Design. Her art is displayed in major museums such as SFMOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Centre Pompidou. This work reflects the geometric shapes and vivid colors of Rothschild’s style. The composition layers angular, interlocking forms that verge on figuration yet remain abstract, demonstrating her interest in balancing shape with geometry. Bold outlines stabilize the fragmented shapes, while her palette features a mix of blues, oranges, and neutrals. While playful with color, the sheet encapsulates significance of form that Rothschild was so dedicated to; it is from the artist’s early years during her first New York period and is reminiscent of influence by Hans Hoffman.