Long Vertical One (No. 9) exemplifies the boldly brushed black-and-white abstractions that Hendler developed in the 1950s. During this period, he often experimented with irregularly shaped canvases and dramatic vertical or horizontal formats, extending the energy of his gestures across the full pictorial field.
Born in Philadelphia, Hendler served in the US Army and went on to study at the Philadelphia College of Art (later the University of the Arts), the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), and Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Under the GI Bill, he painted in Paris, where with Paul Keene he cofounded Galerie Huit, a cooperative promoting exchange between European and American artists. Upon returning to Philadelphia, he cofounded the artist collective Group ’55 and opened Hendler Galleries. In 1958 he was appointed head of painting at the Minneapolis School of Art (now Minneapolis College of Art and Design), retiring as a full professor in 1984. Hendler’s work is in major collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PAFA, Walker Art Center, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
