Biography

Lynne Mapp Drexler was an American painter best known for her synthesis of Post-Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism in her depictions of landscapes. With precise yet expressionist brushstrokes, a bright palette, and acute focus on composition, Drexler’s work calls to mind the paintings of Henri Matisse. Along with her peers Jane Freilicher, Lois Dodd, and Jane Wilson, Drexler’s idiosyncratic style of representation never received the same attention as her male counterparts. Born on May 21, 1928 in Newport News, VA, she studied at the College of William and Mary before moving to New York. While there, the artist studied under Robert Motherwell and Hans Hofmann at Hunter College. Motherwell’s technical and philosophical art instruction, as well as Hofmann’s dynamic teaching of color theory and composition, were influential to Drexler’s development of her own style. She spent much of her life between New York and Monhegan Island, ME, which became the subject of her later paintings. Drexler died on December 30, 1999 in Monhegan Island, ME. Her works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, among others.