Nicholas Krushenick

Who was Nicholas Krushenick?

Nicholas Krushenick was one of the forerunners of the pop art movement.

Krushenick began showing his work publicly in New York in 1957, at the age of 28. By 1962, his work was shown at upscale galleries and, by the year 2000, was part of major permanent collections throughout New York and the United States

Born in New York City in 1929, Krushenick served in World War II, then studied art upon his return to home life. He attended the Art Students League of New York and the Hans Hofmann School Of Art. He and brother John Krushenick opened an artists' cooperative called the Brata Gallery in the late 1950s.

In 1969, Krushenick gave up his soft brush abstract expressionist technique for bolder colours and lines similar to illustration, yet maintaining use of abstract figurative forms. This style marked him as one of the original practitioners of pop art.

In his later years, Krushenick taught at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1977 to 1991. He died in New York on February 5, 1999, at age 69.