Ad Reinhardt

Biography

Ad Reinhardt (1913–1967) was an American abstract painter, writer, cartoonist and art theorist. Born on December 24, 1913, in Buffalo, New York, he studied art history at Columbia University and later trained in painting in New York.

Reinhardt began his career with geometric abstract paintings and worked for the WPA Federal Art Project during the 1930s. He was also a member of the American Abstract Artists and taught art history at Brooklyn College for many years.

During the 1950s, his paintings became increasingly simple, geometric and monochromatic. He is best known for his Black Paintings, a series of large square canvases created mainly during the 1960s. These works used extremely subtle shades of black and reflected his belief in pure, non-representational art.

Alongside painting, Reinhardt wrote extensively about modern art and produced satirical cartoons criticizing the art world. His ideas and minimalist paintings strongly influenced Minimalism and Conceptual Art.

Ad Reinhardt died on August 30, 1967, in New York City, aged 53. He is remembered as a major figure in American modern art and an important influence on later minimalist and conceptual artists.