The slip The New York City street that changed American art forever

Ships docked in Coenties Slip on the bustling Lower Manhattan waterfront until the inlet was turned into a street in 1835, its buildings housing sailmakers and maritime suppliers. In the mid-twentieth century, the Slip, scruffy and off-the-beaten-track, became a sanctuary for emerging artists who cherished what art historian Peiffer calls collective solitude. Peiffer offers an engrossing history of the neighborhood, which inspired Herman Melville and Walt Whitman before it made a profound impact on groundbreaking painters and sculptors Jack Youngerman, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Indiana, Agnes Martin, Lenore Tawney, Ann Wilson, and James Rosenquist, and actor Delphine Seyrig. Peiffer incisively illuminates each artist's personality, aesthetics, and creations, describing their illegally occupied studios, their interactions, financial struggles, and, for some, battles with mental illness. Those who were queer were grateful for the haven the Slip provided in an aggressively anti-gay era, even as the wrecking balls of so-called urban renewal encroached. As she traces the Slip artists' paths from obscurity to recognition, Peiffer also profiles pivotal critics and gallerists. In a precisely detailed, well-contextualized narrative alive with anecdotes, Peiffer considers the dynamic between place and creativity, mutual support and individuality, expertly and insightfully illuminating an underappreciated artistic enclave and its pivotal role in modern art.

Art historian Peiffer's enchanting debut revisits the art scene that emerged in New York City's Coenties Slip in the 1950s and early '60s. A narrow street between piers in Lower Manhattan where ships were loaded and unloaded, Coenties Slip became a hotbed for artists in the 1950s, attracting abstract painter Ellswoth Kelly, Pop Art pioneer Robert Indiana, sculptor and collagist Lenore Tawney, and others. They "experiment in their illegal warehouse studios"; sourced found materials, including wood from sail masts, for their pieces; and worked at the forefront of pop art and other movements. Despite diverse styles, the artists found a sense of belonging with each other, as the Slip's geographic isolation offered a "release from societal expectations" and "a sociopolitical refuge." Change came in the 1960s with efforts to modernize the Financial District through the "widening of streets the demolition of waterfront piers," leading to the artists' gradual departure. Peiffer vividly traces the community's genesis and makes a detailed and persuasive case for its influence on other "alternative models to conventional city life." It's a gratifying deep dive into New York City art history. (Aug.)

Art historian Peiffer debuts with an intriguing biography of six modern artists who lived and created in warehouse lofts on Coenties Slip, a street in lower Manhattan that was once a water inlet used to dock vessels along the East River. The book is divided into four overlapping parts: "Before" describes the historic area, while "Arrivals" discusses the converging paths of artists Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, James Rosenquist, Lenore Tawney, and Jack Youngerman and his actress wife Delphine Seyrig to the Slip buildings in the mid-1950s. "Getting to Work" explores their camaraderie, abstract experimentation, and professional recognition as they tried to distance themselves artistically and geographically from the uptown abstract expressionist movement made famous by Pollock and de Kooning. In the "Departures" section, the book indicates that the artists were evicted when the buildings (except 3--5 Coenties Slip, still standing today) were razed in the mid-1960s to make way for urban renewal. Peiffer expertly describes many works of art influenced by the Slip's surroundings, but photographs of the artworks are minimal. VERDICT This well-researched monograph is a love letter to a unique time and place. It will likely appeal to readers interested in modern art or New York City history.--Denise Miller

A fond portrait of a thriving community dedicated to nurturing art. Art historian Peiffer, managing editor of the creative team at the Museum of Modern Art, makes her book debut with an appreciative group biography of a community of artists who lived and worked in cheap lofts and studios on Coenties Slip, at the lower tip of Manhattan, from 1956 to 1967. Ranging in age from 24 to 50, the artists were at the beginnings of their careers, eager to find their place in an art world dominated by abstract expressionism. Some--Ellsworth Kelly and Jack Youngerman--had studied in Paris, where they met major artists, including Jean Arp, Brancusi, Giacometti, Braque, and Calder. While they felt they were learning a lot, they were frustrated that their own art was hardly being seen. Others came to the Slip from all over the country. In 1957, Agnes Martin arrived by bus from New Mexico and soon became "the mercurial den mother of the Slip." Lenore Tawney, a wealthy 50-year-old widow, came from Chicago the same year. Slip residents included Robert Indiana (he changed his surname to honor his home state); James Rosenquist; and Youngerman's wife, actor Delphine Seyrig. Peiffer chronicles each artist's career, tracing webs of influence as well as the gallery owners and art critics who promoted their work. Besides illuminating the creative work, the author captures the spirit of the "unique microcosm" of the "modest, almost forgotten" Slip, "an alley dead-ending in shipworm- and gribbles-infested piers" that once was a site of New York's bustling harbor trade. By the 1950s, though, its streets were dilapidated, and abandoned lofts had fallen into disrepair. Still, the area seemed like a refuge from the commercialism of uptown Manhattan. "The Slip," Peiffer writes, "offered a release from societal expectations but also community; its siting as a sociopolitical refuge is a part of how we can think about collective solitude. Its isolation allowed for that community to be self-selecting." A warm evocation of a unique place and time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.