Outdoor Art Exhibit

Twice a year for 75 years, Greenwich Village has been home to the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit on Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend (and the weekend following). It was started in 1931 by Jackson Pollock and William DeKooning, when both Village residents and both desperate for cash, took their paintings to the street. Their efforts were noticed by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of Art, and Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Director of the Museum of Modern Art who organized the annual event. It is now attended by over 200 artists and 200,000 visitors. The entrants are juried by fellow artists based on slides submitted. Prizes, donated by individuals and organizations, are awarded by artist-judges in various categories: Fine Arts (Graphics, Mixed Media, Oils & Acrylic, Watercolor), Photography, Sculpture and Crafts (Jewelry, Metal Work, Ceramics, Glass, Mixed Media, Fiber, Wood). The artists I know no longer take this show seriously, considering it too commercial. But, this is a common criticism of virtually everything these days and given that art and snobbery are virtually synonymous, perhaps you should be the judge. There is one weekend left (September 9 & 10). The show currently runs primarily along University Place (where the photo was taken - click here for more photos). There is a map showing the exact location at the WSOAE site ...