Ruth Kligman (January 25, 1930 – March 1, 2010) was an American

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

ist who was romantically involved with two prominent American artists of the mid-20th century,

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

and

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning ( , ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. Born in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a US citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married pa ...

Early life and education

Kligman was born to a Jewish family in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, with ancestors who had come from eastern Europe. Her father was Morris Kligman. Deciding at a young age that she wanted to be an artist, Kligman studied at the Art Students League after moving into New York, as well as the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Painting

Kligman was an abstract painter, working in New York City. Her works include ''Joan of Arc'' and the ''Light and Deman'' series. Kligman developed in several directions at different stages in her career, including iconography, gilding, curved canvases, bright primary shapes, and sunset-inspired gradations.

Writing

In 1974, Kligman published ''Love Affair: A Memoir of Jackson Pollock'', about her relationship with Pollock.

Personal life

Kligman was involved with Pollock in 1956 for a few months before his death. She was 26 and he was 44 when they met at a gallery where she was working. He was struggling with alcoholism. On August 11, 1956, Pollock had been drinking all day before speeding and losing control of the car in which they and Edith Metzger were traveling. Pollock and Metzger died in the crash. Kligman was thrown free and suffered serious injuries. She then became involved for several years, from about 1957 to 1961, with the artist

. De Kooning named a painting, ''Ruth's Zowie,'' for Kligman's exclamation at seeing it. Artists and photographers featured her in their work, including

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clie ...

, Marisol, and

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...

. She said that she and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

had a crush on each other for years. Friendly with Jasper Johns, she continued with her own painting and long shared a studio with Franz Kline on 14th Street in New York. Another source reports she moved into Kline's studio after his death in 1962. Kligman was married to artist Carlos Sansegundo from the mid-1960s until the late 1970s.

In popular culture

In the

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic ocean, marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the Unit ...

'' (2000),

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...

starred as Pollock, and Jennifer Connelly portrayed Kligman.

Bibliography

References

External links

"Who Was Ruth Kligman?"
ARTDEX.
"Ruth Kligman: The Driver's Seat"
Review of Kligman’s book, ''Love Affair: A Memoir of Jackson Pollock''. The Brooklyn Rail.
"The Canvas and the Triangle"
by Lesley M. M. Blume. ''Vanity Fair'', August 22, 2012.
"The Story of Ruth Kligman, the Woman at the Center of the Jackson Pollock Controversy"
by Will Blythe. ''Elle'', November 25, 2013.

by Randy Kennedy. ''New York Times'', March 6, 2010. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kligman, Ruth 1930 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters Painters from New York City Painters from Newark, New Jersey Jewish American artists Sole survivors Writers from Newark, New Jersey Writers from New York City 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American Jews