• About the Foundation
  • Meet the President
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Esphyr Slobodkina

Honoring the Life and Art of Esphyr Slobodkina

Esphyr Slobodkina was a pioneer of American abstract art. Her participation in the avant-garde activities and exhibitions of the 1930s & 40s helped achieve recognition for abstract art in the United States.

  • About the Founder
  • Fine Art
    • Art Through the Decades
    • Essays
  • Children’s Books
  • Educational Programs
  • Caps for Sale Series
  • Exhibitions

1920s – The Beginning

Park Bench (Park Bench in Harbin) 1927

Slobodkina began her art education while living in Harbin, Manchuria, where she received private lessons from the Impressionist painter Pavel Goost. Park Bench in Harbin (1927) was painted under his tutelage.

After immigrating to the United States in 1928, Slobodkina enrolled at the National Academy of Design. She felt stymied by its conservative methodology, which stressed classical forms and ideas. Never one to mince words, Slobodkina wrote of the Academy: “[I] hated every minute of its stupefying, senseless, destrucive method of ‘teaching’ art.” The only class that Slobodkina found tolerable was Arthur Sinclair Covey’s composition class.

In Autumnal Procession in Ancient Russia (1929-31) – created to fulfill a composition class assignment – one can already detect Slobodkina’s penchant for flat, abstract forms.

Next: 1930s – Towards the Abstract

History / Chronology

  • 1920s – The Beginning
  • 1930s – Towards the Abstract
  • 1940s – Slobodkina’s Work Gains Attention
  • 1950s – A Classic Among Abstractionist Painters
  • 1960s – A Continuing Tradition of Geometric Abstract Art
  • 1970s – Drastic Changes
  • 1980s – Rediscovered as a Pioneer of American Abstract Art
  • 1990s – Still Going Strong
  • 2000s – Final Years
  • Chronology

Caps for Sale Website

Visit our new Caps for Sale website.

Copyright © 2022 · Slobdkina Foundation Website by Ingersoll Interactive