Irving Sandler
Irving Sandler (July 22, 1925 – June 2, 2018) was an American art critic, art historian, and educator. He provided numerous first hand accounts of American art, beginning with
abstract expressionism in the 1950s. He also managed the
Tanager Gallery downtown and co-ordinated the New York Artists Club (the "Club") of the New York School from 1955 to its demise in 1962 as well as documenting numerous conversations at the
Cedar Street Tavern and other art venues.
Al Held named him, "Our Boswell of the New York scene," and
Frank O'Hara immortalized him as the "balayeur des artistes" (sweeper-up after artists) because of Sandler's constant presence and habit of taking notes at art world events. Sandler saw himself as an impartial observer of this period, as opposed to polemical advocates such as
Clement Greenberg and
Harold Rosenberg.
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