John Cohen

Cheap rents ...and de Kooning revisits the New York downtown art scene between 1957 and 1963, when the 10th Street galleries were the center of the art world and inexpensive lofts were still available. Living in this dynamic neighborhood, John Cohen photographed a series of its famous and infamous artists' haunts-among them the legendary Cedar Bar, the Artists' Club and the Tanager Gallery-creating a definitive impression of a hell-bent, headstrong era.

De Kooning's studio was in the midst of this avant-garde bloc, where Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Performance Art and Happenings all ambitiously made their mark alongside the Beat Generation.

About the Author

John Cohen, born in 1932 in New York, is a photographer, filmmaker, and founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers. A masters graduate from Yale University, Cohen participated in the artistic circles of late 1950s and early 1960s New York, and worked with Robert Frank on his film Pull My Daisy (1959). He has made numerous books and films, and produced recordings of traditional American musicians, including Dillard Chandler and Roscoe Holcomb.