2025 Summer Seasonal Newsletter from the O’Brien Art Foundation
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We are delighted to share several updates reflecting our dedication to advancing research and scholarship in American art history.
This summer—and as we look toward 2027—we’re embarking on a series of major initiatives tied to the 100th anniversary of Atelier 17. Founded in Paris in 1927 by British artist Stanley William Hayter and with its relocation to New York in 1940 at the onset of World War II, this groundbrreaking hub for experimental printmaking fostered a vibrant exchange of ideas between established artists and emerging voices for over five decades. As concerns of Surrealism collided with the burgeoning movement of Abstract Expressionism, the Atelier promoted the value of pure experimentation for its own sake and inclusive community. Many of these artists went on to shape the future and possibilities of printmaking as leading educators across the United States.
In honor of this legacy, the Foundation is collaborating on new exhibitions, publications that celebrate the Atelier’s revolutionary history, enduring impact, and ethos. These initiatives build on our longstanding dedication to collecting and stewarding the prints created by Atelier artists and their students.
We invite you to join us in congratulating the recipients of our new funding grants and to explore the newly published essays on our website, which highlight this dynamic period in art history.
With well wishes,
Marty O’Brien
Founder, Board President & Treasurer
Fred Becker (1913–2004). Detail of Kaleidoscopic Organism. 1946.
Funding Announcement
Preparations are underway for Ground Breakers: A Critical Space for Women at Atelier 17, a revelatory exhibition slated for 2027 to mark 100 years since the workshop’s founding. We are thrilled to provide both primary funding and loaned artworks for this ambitious project, curated by Christa Story for the Wright Museum of Art at Beloit College, Wisconsin.
The exhibition will be divided into four sections: “An Atelier for All: Hayter’s Wide Reach”; “Artist’s Proof: Presence and Practice”; “For the Sake of Making: A Space for Trial, Error, and Ideas”; and “The Modern Mindset: Tapping into Mathematic and Scientific Sources via Printmaking.” It will feature the work of ten underappreciated artists:
Minna Citron (American, 1896–1991)
Dorothy Dehner (American, 1901–1994)
Terry Haass (b. Czechoslovakia, 1923–2016)
Yvonne Hagen (American, 1918–2005)
Magdeleine Mocquot (French, 1910–1991)
Nina Negri (Franco-Argentine, 1909–1991)
Helen Phillips (American, 1913–1995)
Gail Singer (American, 1924–1965)
Pennerton West (American, 1913–1965)
Margaret Jean Kettuenen Zegart (American, 1926)
Minna Citron (1896–1991). Poseidon’s Revenge. 1958. 2 color lift-ground etching and engraving with surface roll. Image: 10 x 17 ¾ in. The Marty O’Brien Collection of American Art.
Funding Announcement
We are thrilled to announce the publication of a comprehensive monograph celebrating the life and remarkable six-decade career of Fred Becker (1913–2004). The book traces Becker’s influential journey from his early days in New York working with the WPA and Atelier 17, to his academic leadership at Washington University in St. Louis and University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
This volume, which will be released in early 2026, includes archival texts by Becker himself as well as a historical interview with art historian Martica Sawin along with new commissioned essays by scholar James Wechsler, and artist & gallerist Ron Rumford with an introduction by our Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Hannah Turpin and foreword from the artist’s daughter, Carla Becker who has played a pivotal role in this initiative.
Online Resource Updates
Dennis Beall (b. 1929–2024). Styx. 1961. Mixed technique color intaglio on ivory Arches wove. 23 ¾ x 11 5/8 in. The Marty O’Brien Collection of American Art.
Collection Story: Printmaking at the Precipice: Atelier 17
Collection Story: Experimentation for Itself: Printmaking at Mid-Century
This introduction to printmaking at mid-century focuses on a selection of artists who engaged the bold experimental possibilities of the medium championed by Atelier 17.
Visual Essay: Body Techniques and Technologies of Human Touch at Atelier 17
A short visual essay explores how, in a world defined by modernity’s rapid technological transformation and the fallout of World War II, process-driven experiments with printmaking offered a unique means for artists to grapple with the human condition.
Featured Artwork: Marcia Marcus, Man, 1967
Our new Featured Artwork celebrates the legacy of the late Marcia Marcus (1928–2025), an American figurative painter associated with the New York art scene of the 1950s–70s. Known for colorful, graphic portraits often exploring identity, gender, and social relationships, Marcus championed the figure at a time when it was relegated to the margins. She studied at Cooper Union and Yale and was active among influential circles, exhibiting alongside artists like Alex Katz and Red Grooms.
Fred Becker (1913–2004). Kaleidoscopic Organism. 1946. Engraving, hard and soft ground etching. The Marty O’Brien Collection of American Art.
Marcia Marcus (1928–2025). Man.1967. Oil on canvas. Framed: 23 x 16 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. The Marty O’Brien Collection of American Art.
The O’Brien Art Project Foundation (DBA O’Brien Art Foundation) is a charitable organization under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. We are dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and appreciation of American Art beyond the accepted canon.
