Post-War Abstraction: Works from The Courtauld

2 July – 12 Oct 2025
Project Space

Drawn from The Courtauld’s significant collection of post-war art, this Project Space display will examine forms of abstraction which emerged in Europe and America in the 1950s and 1960s.

It will explore the radical approaches towards non-representational image making and experimentation with techniques and materials that characterised the work of artists including Philip Guston, Jean Dubuffet, and Joseph Beuys. Many of these works are recent additions to The Courtauld’s collection as gifts and promised gifts from the Karshan collection.

Running alongside the Gallery’s main exhibition, Abstract Erotic: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Alice Adams, this display will contribute to a summer season of abstraction at The Courtauld in 2025.

Post-War Abstraction: Works from The Courtauld

2 Jul - 12 Oct 2025

2 July - 12 Oct 2025

10:00 - 18:00 (last entry 17:15)

The Courtauld Gallery  The Project Space 

Highlights

A painting by Philip Guston (1913-1980), Close-Up II, 1959
Philip Guston (1913-1980), Close-Up II, 1959, Oil paint on paper, mounted on board, mounted on masonite, 59 x 73.6 cm. Promised gift by Linda Karshan in memory of her husband, Howard Karshan. On long-term loan to The Courtauld Gallery, London. © The Estate of Philip Guston, courtesy Hauser & Wirth

Join the art movement

Get free unlimited entry to The Courtauld Gallery and exhibitions, priority booking to selected events, advance notice of art history short courses, exclusive events, discounts and more.

Become a Friend
Courtauld Friends logo

You might also like

painting of a man with a bandage covering his ear

The Collection

Explore The Courtauld’s remarkable collection of paintings, prints and drawings, sculpture and decorative arts. ...

a painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, depicting a lively scene at a French cabaret. The central figure is a performer, dressed in a vibrant yellow blouse with ruffled sleeves and dark green pants, with one hand resting casually in their pocket. The performer's face is pale with bold red lips, and they wear a distinctive yellow hat adorned with a white feather. In the background, other figures, likely patrons of the cabaret, engage in conversation. The scene is set against a richly detailed backdrop that suggests the interior of a bustling entertainment venue, likely the Moulin Rouge or a similar location, common in Toulouse-Lautrec's work. The artist's use of bold colors and expressive brushstrokes captures the vibrant energy of Parisian nightlife during the late 19th century.

Exhibition, The Courtauld Gallery, What's on Highlights

Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection

14 Feb - 26 May 2025

For the first time in its history, a rich array of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist highlights from the Reinhart collection will be displayed outside Switzerland....

Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection

14 Feb - 26 May 2025

Read more

Exhibition, The Courtauld Gallery, What's on Highlights

Abstract Erotic

20 June - 14 Sep 2025

This major exhibition brings together the erotic and playful aspects of the work of Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse and Alice Adams to ask important questions about sexuality, bodies and humour....

Abstract Erotic

20 Jun - 14 Sep 2025

Read more
A black and brown ink drawing on slightly aged paper. Abstract lines and parallel-like hatchings, which look slightly like either eyelashes or crosshatches, form a spiralling composition from the upper right corner of the sheet downwards. The artist marking 'K', circled, and the number '16'. are visible in the bottom left corner.

Display, The Courtauld Gallery, What's on Highlights

With Graphic Intent

1 March - 22 June 2025

A focused display of highlights from The Courtauld’s collection of German and Austrian modernist works on paper....

With Graphic Intent

1 Mar - 22 Jun 2025

Read more

Citations