Something for both history and art lovers

The life and work of “Corinne” Michael West will be on display at the Art Resource Group Gallery in Newport Beach beginning on Saturday.

West was a 20th century American painter and poet, whose painting and passion was instrumental to the development of the Abstract Expressionism movement, ARG owner and gallery curator Miriam Smith said.

“What is most interesting about this movement is that this was a whole new way of viewing the world,” Smith said. “[West] was moving in a new, experimental direction. She was trying to paint energy and action with a brush on canvas.”

Selected works by West will be on display and available for sale through Sept. 30. Photographs and notes compiled by West during her life will also be on display, including clippings she had saved of critics’ reviews.

“This exhibit has something for history lovers and art lovers,” Smith said.

Titled “Michael Corinne West: More than Gorky’s Muse” will coincide with an exhibit currently being displayed at the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art: “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective.”

The two artists deeply influenced each other, Smith explained, in that West changed her name to the masculine “Michael” at the encouragement of Gorky, in order to receive recognition in the male-dominated art world.

“What I like most about [West], is that she had a vision and she stuck with it,” Smith said, “She was passion, energy, action—and it came through in her paintings.”

A private reception tonight will precede the Saturday opening, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Art Resource Group is located at 20351 Irvine Ave., Suite C-1 in Newport Beach.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.