Ad Reinhardt
A fiercely intellectual painter who pushed abstraction to its absolute limit, creating profound, nearly invisible black canvases that demanded a new way of seeing.
1913–1967 (age 54)·American painter and printmaker·Birthday: December 24·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Ad Reinhardt operated as a kind of Zen monk within the clamor of the New York art scene. A contemporary of the Abstract Expressionists, he moved deliberately away from their gestural drama, developing a strict, geometric style he called 'ultimate painting.' By the late 1950s, he began his seminal 'black paintings'—large, square canvases that initially appear uniformly dark but slowly reveal subtle cruciform patterns of slightly different black hues. He saw these works as the final stage of modern art, 'art-as-art' purged of all external reference, emotion, and even the artist's hand. A witty and polemical writer and cartoonist, he used satire to attack what he saw as the commercialism and impurity of the art world, directly influencing the next generation of Minimalist and Conceptual artists with his radical ideas of purity and negation.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Ad was born in 1913, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ad Was Born
The biggest hits of 1913
Ad's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1913Born
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1918Started school
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Became a teenager
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1929Could drive
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1931Could vote
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1934Turned 21
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1943Turned 30
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 40
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1963Turned 50
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1967Died at 54
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
Key Achievements
- Created the definitive series of 'black paintings' in the 1960s, which became central to the discourse of Minimalism.
- His art theory writings, particularly the essay 'Art-as-Art', were foundational for Conceptual art.
- Had a major retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1966, cementing his influence.
- Was a member of the American Abstract Artists group and taught for years at Brooklyn College.
Did You Know?
He created a famous series of instructional cartoons, 'How to Look at Modern Art', published in PM magazine.
He was an accomplished photographer and documented the New York art world extensively.
He was a close friend of the poet Thomas Merton, with whom he corresponded about mysticism.
He insisted his black paintings were the 'last paintings' anyone could make.
“Art is art. Everything else is everything else.”
