THEY CELEBRATED ART, AND EACH OTHER

Although Pollock shot to fame almost instantly, for many of the movement’s other artists, recognition came slowly, if at all. The role of the critic was important in this process. Robert Motherwell and Barnett Newman both worked as critics in addition to their artistic practice. They—along with Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg—helped to celebrate the movement and garner wider public attention. But the artists also supported each other: in 1949, they founded the Artists’ Club to provide a venue for eating, drinking, debating art, and organizing exhibitions.