Michael Corinne West

Michael Corinne West (1908–1991) is considered one of the unsung innovators of Abstract Expressionism. Born in Chicago and raised in Ohio, she studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy before moving to New York in 1932 to attend the Art Students League, where she was among Hans Hofmann's first students alongside Betty Parsons, Louise Nevelson, and Harry Holtzman.

West developed a formative relationship with Arshile Gorky, who introduced her to European Surrealism and encouraged her to adopt the name "Michael," a reflection of her identity as a serious artist rather than social figure. By 1941 she had officially taken the name Michael West as both a professional and personal moniker.

Her early work showed Cubist influence, but after World War II her painting grew increasingly abstract, driven by social, spiritual, and philosophical concerns. Technically, West was drawn to action painting, frequently using a palette knife and painting directly from the tube, incorporating sand and found objects to build dense, textured surfaces. She described this approach as creating "a material awareness of spirit." She exhibited alongside Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline, and maintained close friendships with Richard Pousette-Dart and Isamu Noguchi. In the 1950s, the calligraphic traditions of Zen Buddhism and European Art Informel became additional influences. Throughout her career she was also a noted poet and essayist.

Despite her significant contributions, West was largely written out of the Abstract Expressionist narrative due to the gender bias of 20th century critics. Recognition has grown steadily since her death: the Pollock-Krasner Foundation mounted a retrospective titled "Michael West: Painter-Poet," and in 2019 Hollis Taggart gallery exhibited her work alongside Gorky, Hofmann, Pousette-Dart, and Kline, reestablishing her place as a seminal figure of the movement.