In 1953 eleven Canadian Abstract Expressionist artists banded together to break through the barricades of traditional art at a time when landscapes were about the only paintings collectors
were buying. Hungry for recognition, raging against the art establishment that was shutting them out, they decided to form a collective, expecting they would gain more attention as a group
than as solo artists. In 1954, The Painters ElevenJack Bush, Oscar Cahén, Hortense Gordon, Tom Hodgson, Alexandra Luke, Jock Macdonald, Ray Mead, Kazuo Nakamura, William Ronald,
Harold Town and Walter Yarwoodheld their first exhibition in Toronto.
Initially the public response echoed the worldwide sentiments toward Abstract Expressionism mockery and bewilderment. Nevertheless, the exhibition attracted wide public interest and
criticism faded into acclaim from critics and collectors alike. A successful 1956 exhibition at the Riverside Gallery in New York even elicited praise from the influential critic Clement
Greenberg.
Packed with gorgeous full color reproductions, this highly detailed account reveals the influences of the indivudual artists on the group's dynamic art and uncovers why the Painters Eleven
had such a struggle for recognition, and why they acheived it so masterfully.
