Harold Rosenberg The Tradition Of The New Pdf Version Here

Harold Rosenberg — "The Tradition of the New" (PDF version) — Short post

Harold Rosenberg’s essay "The Tradition of the New" (1959) reframes modern American art by celebrating artists as active agents of invention rather than mere continuers of a decorative lineage. Rosenberg argues that the real tradition is not a fixed style but an ongoing process: each painting or work is an “event” in which the artist acts, confronts materials, and defines new problems. This emphasis shifts attention from schools and chronological succession to individual decision-making, risk, and the existential stakes of creation. The essay helped codify the myth of the abstract expressionist as heroic, improvising, and original — shaping criticism and art history by privileging process, presence, and rupture over technique or craft alone.

This split remains influential. If you read art criticism today, you will still find traces of the “formalist vs. existentialist” divide. Harold Rosenberg The Tradition Of The New Pdf Version

• Art as action: a work is an event in which the artist acts and exposes a decision-making process.
• Tradition redefined: continuity comes from a commitment to innovation, not replication of style.
• Artist-centered criticism: evaluation focuses on how a work creates new problems or possibilities.
• Influence on reception: the essay contributed to the heroic framing of mid-20th-century American artists and legitimized gestural, process-driven practices.

"The Tradition of the New" is a collection of essays that explore the relationship between modern art and the avant-garde movement. The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a specific aspect of modern art: the artist, the artwork, and the audience. Rosenberg's central argument is that modern art, particularly abstract expressionism, has become a tradition in its own right, one that is characterized by a rejection of traditional representational art forms. Harold Rosenberg — "The Tradition of the New"

Where It Falls Short

• Exclusion of Women: Rosenberg’s “American Action Painters” focuses almost exclusively on male artists (Pollock, de Kooning, Kline, Guston). He famously marginalized Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Joan Mitchell. A contemporary reading finds this gap glaring.
• Over-Emphasis on Angst: Some argue he romanticized anxiety and violence. Not all abstract painting is a psychological battleground.
• Vague on Method: Unlike Greenberg, who could tell you why a particular shape worked, Rosenberg is often poetic to the point of obscurity. He describes the effect of Action Painting but rarely provides tools for visual analysis.

Conclusion

The Tradition of the New is not a comfortable read. Rosenberg’s prose can be dense, aphoristic, even contradictory. But that is the point. He was trying to capture an art that refused to sit still. For anyone who wants to understand why a splatter of paint on canvas can feel like a philosophical crisis—and a liberation—Rosenberg’s book remains essential. Art as action: a work is an event

As a philosopher, Rosenberg was deeply interested in the nature of human existence and the role of art in shaping our understanding of the world. He wrote extensively on topics such as the nature of creativity, the relationship between art and politics, and the role of the artist in society.

Google Books: Provides a digitized version of the book (reprinted in 2010), though it may only show limited previews depending on your region. Physical & Used Copies: