Harvey Dinnerstein

Introduction to Chronicle Books' "Underground Together: The Art and Life of Harvey Dinnerstein."


Harvey Dinnerstein is one of the foremost figurative painters working today. His paintings, reflecting his experiences as a Brooklyn native, capture the triumphs and sorrows of the human condition. When the mid-century vogue for abstraction erupted and traditional realism was considered passe, Dinnerstein made the bold choice to maintain and master the representational style - a decision that has secured him the esteem of art world insiders, art academics and the general public.

Inspired by his first-hand observations of the Civil Rights movement in the South and the shared humanity emphasized by city life, Dinnerstein's images are rich with allegory and layered nuance. His subjects represent a quintessential cross-section of the American melting pot - young and old, rich and poor, of all religions, cultures and races. Though many of these paintings document the turbulence of our era - the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s, the chaos of 9/11 - Dinnerstein's work is timeless in its portrayal of the collective human empathy these occasions inspire.

Underground Together is the first comprehensive retrospective of Dinnerstein's oeuvre, and showcases a career that has placed paintings in the collections of such institutions as the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Smithsonian, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Dinnerstein's work has been reproduced and featured in various magazines, including ARTnews, Harpers, Esquire, and New York. As an educator, Dinnerstein has instructed generations of students interested in the figurative tradition at the School of Visual Arts, the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League, where he is currently an instructor.

The 200 color reproductions included here are further illuminated by insightful essays by gallerists Raman Frey and Wendi Norris, acclaimed author Pete Hamill, and art historian Gabriel P. Weisberg. This volume showcases a prodigious half-century career and celebrates the span of the American experience.