A first generation Abstract Expressionist artist, Dugmore studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1940 and then under Clyfford Still at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco after the end of World War II. Still had a great influence on the development of Dugmore's art. Ernest Briggs was one of his fellow students at the time and would become a lifelong friend. Dugmore was considered by some to be "the West Coast's answer" to the Abstract Expressionist movement that was firmly rooted in New York City.
“If I say that I am not just making paintings, I would not be making myself clear. Of far greater significance and permanent value than what happens on the surface of the paintings are the ideas they are made of and the feelings they evoke when you look at them.” - Edward Dugmore
Dugmore, an Abstract Expressionist artist who was closely aligned with both the San Francisco and New York Post War art worlds, executed large-scale works that placed a premium on color and emotion over intellect and tradition. Dugmore took cues from nature in his large color field canvas’ evoking geological strata, minerals, and landscapes. While Red-Green is oil on canvas, Dugmore, who was a close personal contemporary of such iconic artists as Pollock, Kline, and de Kooning, worked freely in a range of mediums from oil on canvas to watercolor, ink, and acrylic on paper. Dugmore’s art was largely spontaneous and uninhibited.
Manny Silverman Art Gallery, West Hollywood 1993
Barry Tarlow then Estate of Barry Tarlow, Los Angeles
Abell Auction, Los Angeles CA., 03 October 2021