MAX WEBER (1881-1961)

An early modernist painter, Max Weber was the first American artist to create Cubist artwork. Weber was born in a small city in what is now the country of Poland, but immigrated to Brooklyn with his family, and spent much of his artistically formative years in France. While studying art in Paris, Weber was introduced to the artwork of Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Rousseau. He quickly became involved with the Parisian Avant-Garde – he developed a close friendship with Rousseau, frequented Gertrude Stein’s salon, and enrolled in Matisse’s Acadamie.

Though Weber received nearly abusive criticism for his work upon returning to New York, with time the traditionalists seceded and Weber’s artwork received critical acclaim. One of his greater supporters was Alfred H Barr, Jr., who was the first director of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1930, Barr was responsible for the first retrospective of Weber’s artwork, which marked the first solo exhibition of an American artists at the Museum. In the 1940s and 50s, Weber moved away from Cubism to a more representational style that primarily centered on Jewish themes.

Max Weber is considered one of America’s pioneers of modernism. His artwork is currently held by over 20 museums in the US, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.