Skip to main content

Hans Hofmann Art

German, 1897-1957

The only artist of the New York school to participate directly in European modernism, Hans Hofmann became known as the major exponent of Abstract Expressionism.

Hans Hofmann paintings are known for their manic, exuberant energy. Among 20th-century masters, he was the first to consolidate and codify the lessons of modernism into a teaching system. Hofmann was also a widely influential art instructor with schools in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts. He was described by New York Times critic Clement Greenberg as "the most important teacher of our time" (Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art). Approximately six-thousand students studied modernist art with him, among the well-known names are Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Larry Rivers and Nell Blaine.

Hofmann was born in Weissenberg, Germany, showed a precocious interest in music and science, and had early training in mechanics while working for the Director of Public Works of Bavaria between 1896 and 1898. On that job, he invented the electromagnetic comptometer, the precursor of the adding machine.

Hofmann began to study art in 1898 in Munich where he was introduced to Impressionism. From 1904 to 1914, he studied in Paris and was exposed to many of the avant-garde artists and movements of that time including Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism. He was much taken with the exploration of pure color for its own sake, especially as investigated by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, and Delaunay. In Munich at the outbreak of World War I, he founded an art school and was highly successful until 1932 when he emigrated to America, having spent the summers in 1930 and 1931 teaching at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1932, he began teaching at the Arts Students League in New York and the following year opened his own schools in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

During the 1930s and 1940s, American Scene painting was prevalent, but Hofmann resisted that style, staying with the modernism to which he had been exposed in Europe. Hence he was later credited as a courageous pioneer in America of European modern art. He closed both of his schools in 1958 so he could devote himself full time to his own painting. He died in New York City in 1966.

Hofmann said he always based his paintings on the subject of nature, and he used vivid colors such as bright blues, greens oranges and yellows and applied them with palette knives in long slashing strokes. He viewed the surface of the canvas as alive, responsive, and active, often with opposing forces which he created with his theory of "push and pull," and which is closely tied to theories of Paul Cezanne. He also experimented with dripping paint onto the canvas, a method Jackson Pollock learned and later made famous.

Find original Hans Hofmann art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Fine Art San Diego)

to
2
13
1
14
9
4
3
2
1
1
1
1
Untitled
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Untitled" is an oil on canvas painting made by Hans Hofmann in 1962. The artwork size is 25 x 30 1/4 inches. The framed size is 33 1/4 x 38 1/4 x 2 inches. The painting is signed lo...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled (View of Provincetown Harbor)
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Untitled (View of Provincetown Harbor)", is an oil on panel work made by Hans Hofmann circa 1937. The work is stamped verso by the estate of Hans Hofmann. The artwork size is 17 1/4...
Category

Early 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

1967 original exhibition poster for Hans Hofmann's at the André Emmerich Gallery
By Hans Hofmann
Located in PARIS, FR
The 1967 original exhibition poster for Hans Hofmann's at the André Emmerich Gallery in New York is a vibrant and captivating visual representation of the renowned artist's abstract ...
Category

1960s Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Composition in Blue (mid century modern Abstract Expressionist signed/N, Unique
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Hans Hofmann Composition in Blue, 1952 Color silkscreen with unique hand painted gouache additions Hand signed and numbered 76/120 on the front in ink (each example is a unique variant with hand painting) Published by Esther Gentle and 167 Gallery, New York Frame included Dazzling mid century modern (1952) mixed media silkscreen and gouache by Hans Hofmann - one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. The gouache additions are done by hand, making each work in this series absolutely unique. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, early print with strong colors. According to Reba and Dave Williams (Reba and Dave Williams, American Screenprints, New York, 1987, page 32), Hofmann was persuaded to make this print by Esther Gentle (who later married Abraham Rattner), his student at the time, who was starting to publish screenprints reproducing well-known artists' paintings. Unlike other screenprints by Abstract Expressionist artists, Hofmann's is an original work which does not reproduce a painting. An unusual feature of Composition in Blue is that the blue background varies; the artist authorized different color mixtures and strengths for each example in the printing of this particular silkscreen (Williams, page 32). Measurements: Work: 16⅞ by 15 inches Framed: 24⅝ by 21¼ inches HANS HOFMANN (1880-1966) Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) is one of the most important figures of postwar American art. Celebrated for his exuberant, color-filled canvases, and renowned as an influential teacher for generations of artists—first in his native Germany, then in New York and Provincetown—Hofmann played a pivotal role in the development of Abstract Expressionism. Between 1900 and 1930, Hofmann’s early studies, decades of painting, and schools of art took him to Munich, to Paris, then back to Munich. By 1933, and for the next four decades, he lived in New York and in Provincetown. Hofmann’s evolution from foremost modern art teacher to pivotal modern artist brought him into contact with many of the foremost artists, critics, and dealers of the twentieth century: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Betty Parsons, Peggy Guggenheim, Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock, and many others. His successful career was shepherded by the postwar modern...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Screen, Graphite

"Hiddensee, Herbst (Autumn)" Hans Hofmann, Modern German Abstract Landscape
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Hans Hofmann Hiddensee, Herbst (Autumn), 1927 Signed with initials and dated lower left; titled on the reverse Oil on paper 18 x 22 inches Provenance: John Adams Fine Art, London Pr...
Category

1920s Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Oil

Hans Hofmann at Andre Emmerich Gallery Poster
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann at Andre Emmerich Gallery Poster, 1973 Offset lithograph poster Plate signed on the bottom right front Frame Included Unnumbered but believed to be publishe...
Category

1970s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Provincetown Drawing - Pen & Ink - 1942 - Massachusetts
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Title: "Provincetown Drawing" Medium: pen and ink on paper Dimensions: 14 x 16 3/4 inches Signed: Initialed and dated 1942 Provenance: Manny Silverman Gallery...
Category

1940s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

original lithograph
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1951 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category

1950s Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Lithograph

original lithograph
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1950 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category

1950s Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Lithograph

Kootz Gallery, abstraction
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Greenwich, CT
A vibrant, Miro like work celebrating his exhibition at the famous Kootz gallery. This piece serves as historical work and and artistic expression of joie de vivre! In 1947 Hans Ho...
Category

1940s Abstract Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil, Archival Paper

Figure and Female Nude
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Figure and Female Nude, ca. 1925, by Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) Pencil on paper 17 x 14 inches unframed (43.18 x 35.56 cm) Description: This figurative drawing by German-American arti...
Category

Early 20th Century Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Crucifixion
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Crucifixion, ca. 1925, by Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) Pencil on paper 17 x 14 inches unframed (43.18 x 35.56 cm) Description: This figure drawing by Hans Hofmann provides a unique look...
Category

Early 20th Century Post-Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Pencil

Yellow Vase
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Hans Hofmann. "Yellow Vase" is still-life abstract painting, oil on panel executed in the primary colors by Post-War Abstract Expressionist H...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Untitled
By Hans Hofmann
Located in New York, NY
Color crayons and ink on white wove paper. Initialed and dated "VI . 24 . 43" in ink, lower right recto, and annotated and dated in ink, verso. This work is registered in the record...
Category

1940s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Crayon, Ink

Related Items
Les Métamorphoses du Jour - Rare Book Illustrated by J. J. Grandville - 1869
By J. J. Grandville
Located in Roma, IT
Les Métamorphoses du Jour is an original modern rare book written by Various Authors and illustrated by Jean Jacques Grandville (Nancy, 1803 – ...
Category

1860s Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Lithograph

Abstract Colors - Oil On Canvas by Giorgio Lo Fermo - 1983
By Giorgio Lo Fermo
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Colors is an artwork realized by Giorgio Lo Fermo (b. 1947) in 1983. Original Oil On Canvas. Hand-signed and dated by the artist on the back of the canvas: Lo Fermo 83. ...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reticolo - Oil On Canvas by Giorgio Lo Fermo - 2021
By Giorgio Lo Fermo
Located in Roma, IT
Reticolo is an artwork realized by Giorgio Lo Fermo (b. 1947) in 2021. Original Oil Painting on Canvas. Hand-signed, titled and dated by the artist on the back: G. Lo Fermo 21 Reti...
Category

2010s Abstract Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled (Fresh Air School) /// Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Walasse Ting
By Walasse Ting
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Walasse Ting (Chinese-American, 1929-2010) Title: "Untitled (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Mediu...
Category

1970s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

"Love, Monterey" Colorful Abstract Expressionist Triptych by Kristy Chettle
By Kristy Chettle
Located in Carmel, CA
In this 12" x 36" abstract expressionist triptych, artist Kristy Chettle captures the vibrant essence of Monterey Bay's varied landscapes. The panels are a symphony of color, with ce...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Antique American Modernist Trompe L"Oeil Window Modernist City View Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century modernist view thru a window by Alan Peters. Great color and composition. Framed. Oil on canvas.
Category

1960s Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original-Magnolias-Memory Landscape-UK Awarded Artist-oil on canvas board-Spring
Located in London, GB
Spring-Memory Landscape features Magnolias, among the first flowers to grace the Spring Equinox after the long, cold winter, symbolising regeneration and vitality. These early Magnol...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel

Untitled (Fresh Air School) /// Abstract Expressionist Female Joan Mitchell Art
By Joan Mitchell
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Joan Mitchell (American, 1925-1992) Title: "Untitled (Fresh Air School)" Portfolio: Fresh Air School *Unsigned edition Year: 1972 Medium: Orig...
Category

1970s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Antique American Modernist Landscape Framed New England FallOil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Charming and well painted rural New England modernist landcape by Vern Henry Smith (1927 - 2007. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category

1950s Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rose Art Museum (Open Wall) Poster /// Helen Frankenthaler Female Abstract Art
By Helen Frankenthaler
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: (after) Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928-2011) Title: "Rose Art Museum (Open Wall)" Year: 1981 Medium: Original Offset-Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on light wove paper Li...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Offset, Lithograph

Modernist Abstract Expressionist Watercolor Painting Bauhaus Weimar Pawel Kontny
By Pawel Kontny
Located in Surfside, FL
Abstract watercolor composition bearing the influence of the earlier color-block compositions of Paul Klee. Pawel August Kontny, (Polish-German-American artist) He was born in Laurahuette, Poland, in 1923, the son of a wealthy pastry shop owner. In 1939 he began studying architecture in Breslau where he was introduced to the European masters and to the work of some of the German Expressionists, soon afterward banned as "degenerate artists" and removed from museums throughout Germany by the Nazi regime. His studies were interrupted by World War II. Drafted into the German army, traveling in many countries as a soldier, he sketched various landscapes but in 1945, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Italy. After the war, he studied at the Union of Nuremberg Architects to help design buildings to replace ones destroyed in the war. He recorded his impressions of the local population and the landscapes through his watercolors and drawings. Pawel Kontny thereafter moved to Nuremberg, Germany, becoming a member of the Union of Nuremberg Architects and helping to rebuild the city's historic center. He soon decided to concentrate on his professional art career. He married Irmgard Laurer, a dancer with the Nuremberg Opera. Pavel Kontny 's career as an artist was launched with his participation in an all German exhibition, held at the Dusseldorf Museum in 1952. He held one-man shows in Germany, Switzerland and the United States. During his trip to the United States in 1960, Kontny became instantly enamored with Colorado, and decided to relocate to Cherry Hills with his wife and two children. He quickly established himself in the local art community, being affiliated for a time with Denver Art Galleries and Saks Galleries. His subject matter became the Southwest. During this time he received the Prestigious Gold Medal of the Art Academy of Rome. His extensive travel provided material for the paintings he did using his hallmark marble dust technique. he also worked equally in pastel, watercolor, charcoal and pencil-and-ink. in a style which merged abstraction and realist styles, influenced by Abstract Expressionist painting and South Western American landscapes. In the early 1960s he was one of only a few European-born professional artists in the state, a select group that included Herbert Bayer (1900-1985), a member of the prewar Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, Germany, and Roland Detre (1903-2001), a Hungarian modernist painter. As a Denver, Colorado resident, Pavel Kontny exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the United States, Germany and Japan. There, he was inspired by frequent trips to Native American pueblos in the Southwest, as well as by the study of the Plains Indians of Montana and Wyoming. Over the years Kontny had a number of students and generously helped young artist by hosting exhibitions at his Cherry Hills home. For many years he generously donated his paintings to support charitable causes in Denver. Influences during his European years included German pastelist C.O. Muller, German Informel painter Karl Dahmen and Swiss artist, Hans Erni. In the early 1950s his painting style showed the influence of the Die Brücke (The Bridge), a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905 who had a major impact on the evolution of modern art in the twentieth century in Germany. By the middle of the decade his style incorporated more referential abstraction and total abstraction, resulting in part from his study of Hans Hartung, a German artist based in Paris who exhibited his gestural abstract work in Germany. The American moon landing in 1969 inspired Paul Kontny...
Category

20th Century American Modern Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original Set Primary Blue series-Summer Cat-White Butterfly-BritishAward Artist
Located in London, GB
This special Summer Set offer includes two original oil and silver leaf on canvas -White Butterfly -Summer Blue Cat White Butterfly is one of Shizico Yi's latest projects, inspired ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Silver

Previously Available Items
Abyss
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Greenville, DE
ATTRIBUTED to Hans Hofmann. Initialed "HH" lower right. Oil on Masonite, Ca 1959. Forty - Seventh Street Gallery, 25 W. 47th St. New York label on reverse.
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Composition in Blue
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed screenprint with extensive hand-painted gouache additions on wove paper by German-American artist Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) titled "Composition in Blue...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Gouache, Screen

Original Oil on Paper Titled Upward Abstract Signed Hans Hofmann 1946
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is an original, framed, oil on paper painting, entitled "Upward," signed by Hans Hofmann, 1946. This piece done in typical Hofman abstract expressionist urban ...
Category

1940s Abstract Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil

Hans Hofmann Untitled
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance: Ameringer and Yohe Gallery Private Collection, CA
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paper, Oil, Gouache

Landscape
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Color offset lithograph "Landscape" by Hans Hofmann, monogrammed in print.
Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Offset

Landscape
Landscape
H 10.04 in W 13.98 in
Original Oil on Paper Titled Upward Abstract Signed Hans Hofmann, 1946
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is original, framed, oil on paper painting, entitled "Upward," signed by Hans Hofmann, 1946. This piece done in typical Hofman abstract expressionist urban in ...
Category

1940s Vintage Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Paint, Paper

The Chair
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Palm Desert, CA
An abstract painting by Hans Hofmann. "The Chair" is an oil on panel, abstract painting executed in bright yellows, lime green, blues, violets and oranges b...
Category

1940s Post-War Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

The Chair
The Chair
H 13.5 in W 11.75 in
Untitled
By Hans Hofmann
Located in Greenwich, CT
Abstract Expressionist drawing.
Category

1940s Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann Art

Materials

Gouache, Ink, Paper

Hans Hofmann art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Hans Hofmann art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Hans Hofmann in paint, paper, ink and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Hans Hofmann art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Karl Fred Dahmen, John von Wicht, and Katherine Porter. Hans Hofmann art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $100 and tops out at $45,000, while the average work can sell for $10,000.

Artists Similar to Hans Hofmann

Recently Viewed

View All