Corinne WestMichael

Originally from Illinois, Michael Corinne West began her training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before flourishing at the Cincinnati Academy of Arts, from which she graduated in 1930. Her meeting with Arshile Gorky in New York in 1932 marked a turning point, although she declined his marriage proposals to preserve her artistic career.

Though she had innate talent spanning multiple artistic media, West ultimately chose painting, a field scarcely accessible to women of her time, especially in New York. A pioneer, she was one of the first women to study with Hans Hofmann at the Art Students League of New York. Her career, marked by influential encounters and marriages reflecting the complexities of her personal life, remained steadfastly committed to her art despite challenges.

In 1936, she began exhibiting under the pseudonym Michael West, breaking through prejudices and establishing herself in a male-dominated field. Considered a leading figure in abstract expressionism, she explored themes of energy, creation, and the nature of existence through her art, leaving an indelible mark on the art world until her death in her New York studio in 1991. Her life and work testify to an artist's relentless quest for authentic expression and recognition in a constantly evolving artistic universe.