Al Held

Al Held was an American painter known for his bold exploration of abstraction, particularly through his large-scale, geometric works. A prominent figure in the post-war American art scene, Held’s career spanned over five decades, evolving from gestural Abstract Expressionism to hard-edged geometric abstraction. His distinctive style placed him among the leading abstract painters of his time, influencing future generations of artists.

Born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, Al Held began his artistic journey after serving in the US Navy during World War II. He studied at the Art Students League in New York before traveling to Paris in the early 1950s, where he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière for two years. Returning to the United States. in 1953, Held became associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement, producing pigment paintings that were defined by gestural stroke of paint. His gestures slowly evolved into geometric abstractions by the end of 1959, giving way to a more structured and disciplined approach to his art.

By the 1960s, Al Held’s art had shifted away from the gestural strokes of Abstract Expressionism toward more geometric, architectonic compositions. His hard edge method created geometric forms that suggest deep space and complex dimensionality. These works marked a significant turning point in Al Held’s artwork, as he sought to challenge the flatness of the canvas by creating an illusion of depth.

Created between 1961 and 1967, Held’s ‘Alphabet Paintings’ series features large, abstract letters floated in vast, often chaotic spatial environments. These pieces became some of his most iconic and influential works, blending abstraction with a sense of narrative and playful ambiguity.

Having worked exclusively in black and white for almost a decade, the artist reintroduced saturated colours back onto his canvas. Held’s later works continued to explore geometric abstraction but grew even more complex and vibrant, incorporating three-dimensional perspectives and intricate architectural forms.

Al Held, painter and educator, also taught at Yale University from 1962 to 1980, where he influenced many young artists. The artist died in 2005, aged 76. His work is included in numerous prestigious collections, including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Tate in London, the Kunsthaus Zürich and the Kunstmuseum Basel.