Hard-Edge style

First called "Abstract Classicist" by art critic Jules Langsner and art professor Peter Selz when first exhibited in 1959, this style of painting soon became known as Hard-Edge for its abrupt transitions between color areas, and it looked right at home in the California houses designed by Richard Neutra and other well-known architects of the day. These paintings were considered "the essence of cool," and were on the walls of the most fashionable people of the mid-century era.

Popular Hard-Edge painters of the 1950s and 1960s were John McLaughlin, Lorser Feitelson and his wife Helen Lundeberg, Karl Benjamin and Frederick Hammersly. Imagine Miles Davis or Dave Brubeck tunes wafting through the rooms where these or similar paintings hung. You can almost hear the sound of ice in the cocktail glasses too.

From berkeleydailyplanet.com

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Uploaded by 8BallsEmperor on Oct 11, 2008

Untitled, c. 1946-1949, by John McLaughlin
crockerartmuseum.org

Untitled, 1952, by John McLaughlin
nytimes.com

Untitled, 1964, by Lorser Feitelson
abitabout.com

Dichotomic Organization, 1959, by Lorser Feitelson
fluentcollab.org

Interior with Painting, 1960, by Helen Lundesberg
artscenecalco.com

Shadow of the Bridge I, 1962, by Helen Lundesberg
artnet.com

Chino Hills, 1959, by Karl Benjamin
artknowledgenews.com

Black Pillars, 1957, by Karl Benjamin
blantonmuseum.org

Up Within, c. 1957-1958, by Frederick Hammersly
guardian.co.uk

Lesson One, 1965, by Frederick Hammersly
guardian.co.uk