More Black: Expressionism Comes to the San Francisco Bay Area

After World War Two three traveling retrospectives of European artists arrived in San Francisco. At a time when Abstract Expressionism was the dominant mode of advanced painting, these shows presented a powerful alternative, exposing Bay Area artists to the representational styles of Oskar Kokoschka, Max Beckmann and Edvard Munch. The presence of Max Beckmann, who taught a summer session at Mills College in 1951, provided a striking incident that gives this video its title. “More Black: Expressionism Comes to the San Francisco Bay Area” explores these three exhibitions, tells how they were received, and demonstrates their impact on the development of Bay Area Figurative painters including David Park, Elmer Bischoff, Nathan Oliveira and Joan Brown. Produced by BAYFig, a non-profit organization honoring the legacy of Bay Area Figurative Art. https://www.bayareafigurative.org/