In Europe, Bram van Velde is a legendary mid-century modernist. He moved to Paris in 1925 and spent most of his active career there. He’s a main representative of Art Informel, a 1940s-1950s European equivalent of Abstract Expressionism. Van Velde in the 1940s arrived at his mature, non-objective style, which consists of dynamic lines that form fluid shapes, often with a vertical pull, amounting to gentle, somewhat introverted but energetic paintings. Lithography was an important part of Van Velde’s oeuvre. Despite his relationship to Abstract Expressionism, 1940s and 1960s exhibitions at New York’s Samuel M. Kootz and Knoedler galleries were unsuccessful. A 1968 show at Knoedler did, however, receive critical acclaim. Van Velde’s work is major museums worldwide, including Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute, Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and London’s Tate Gallery. Van Velde’s 1989 Centre Pompidou retrospective also traveled to Spain and The Netherlands.