![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/janet-sobel-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJanet Sobel, a Forgotten Pioneer of Abstract Art<\/p>\n
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The painting above was made in 1945 by self-taught artist Janet Sobel; it\u2019s called Milky Way<\/a>. Sobel was a Ukrainian-born artist who was a pioneer in abstract expressionist art and in drip painting; her work directly influenced that of Jackson Pollock. From Why This Pioneering Abstract Painter Disappeared From the Art World at the Height of Her Fame<\/a>:<\/p>\n The next year, Sobel had her first solo show at New York\u2019s Puma Gallery, where the legendary art critic Clement Greenberg visited \u2014 with Pollock. In an update to his essay \u201cAmerican-Type Painting,\u201d Greenberg wrote that they \u201cadmired these pictures rather furtively,\u201d adding: \u201cLater on, Pollock admitted that these pictures had made an impression on him.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one of Sobel\u2019s paintings circa 1946-1948:<\/p>\n Compare that with Pollock\u2019s first drip painting in 1946<\/a>. Hmm!<\/p>\n Sobel\u2019s \u201coutsider\u201d status, gender, and age, as well as a move away from NYC and the loss of her primary patron, all contributed to her short career, lack of recognition, and limited legacy (for someone who was described in 1946 as an artist who will \u201ceventually be known as one of the important surrealist artists in this country\u201d).<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/janet-sobel-02.jpg\")
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