TODAY'S BEAUTIFUL: The Lyrical Art of Jane Freilicher

Detail from "Poppies & Peonies" 1983 oil on linen Jane Freilicher

"Poppies & Peonies" 1983 oil on linen Jane Freilicher

Detail from "Roses & Chrysanthemums" 1990 oil on canvas Jane Freilicher

"Roses & Chrysanthemums" 1990 oil on canvas Jane Freilicher

"Realism is the only way I can do it"--Jane Freilicher

Artist Jane Freilicher (pronounced Fry-licker) died this week at age 90, so it is fitting that I share her exuberant work with you today.

I adore her paintings and admire that she followed her own singular path instead of trying to mimic the dominant Abstract Expressionist style prominent during her heyday. Although she studied under a famed theorist of abstraction, Hans Hoffman, she chose to portray recognizable images with her expressionistic style of painting.

Freilicher was influenced by Bonnard, Vuillard and Matisse. She used quick strokes to define her forms and employed a bright palette, which gave her work a joyful feel. Her subject matter included the city scape outside her Greenwich Village penthouse and still life objects, but it is her portrayal of the East End of Long Island, which began after a move to Water Mill, NY in the 1950's, that I admire most.

My favorite paintings include those where Freilicher combined still life and landscape with both interior and exterior views, such as the paintings above that I photographed at Art Hamptons last summer.

Freilicher was criticized for choosing realism--landscape and still life genres were devalued during most of her career. She also had many fans, however, and was represented by the prestigious Tibor de Nagy Gallery. She had her first solo show there in 1952.

To her critics, Frielicker responded, "To strain after innovation, to worry about being on 'the cutting edge' (a phrase I hate), reflects a concern for a place in history or one's career rather than the authenticity of one's painting."

Go Jane. Love me a rebel.