Hammersley, Frederick

Frederick Hammersley (1919-2009) first gained critical recognition in 1959 as one of the “Four Abstract Classicists” along with Karl Benjamin, Lorser Feitelson, and John McLaughlin, whose paintings were featured that year in an exhibition of the same name. Curated by critic Jules Langsner and organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the exhibition opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Art in London and Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland.

Hammersley experimented with a wide range of media throughout his long career, including sculpture, graphic design, lithography, serigraphy, collage, constructions, and even sun prints. He consistently drew from life, especially the figure, as well as from the Masters whom he studied in depth, indicating that although abstraction fascinated him, he always stayed grounded in looking at the world around him and maintained his ability to render what he saw. Even his non-objective drawings and abstract portraits are enriched by the sense of touch of his hand and the deep source of his imagery.

Although his health had been failing for several years before he died in 2009, he continued to paint and draw whenever possible until the day before his death. He left a rich legacy of artwork, students, colleagues, and friends, and a vibrant attitude toward life that carries on in his paintings, drawings, and writings. 

Episode:
Painter Frederick Hammersley’s Revolutionary Art
Frederick Hammersly, Agnes Pelton, From Page-To-Stage: Conceptualizing, Focus on Youth Exhibition