In the San Francisco Bay Area, the avant-garde of the 1950s and 1960s was composed of a cadre of artists engaged in the preeminent artistic movement of the post-war era, Abstract Expressionism. During the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s, West Coast artists, particularly those in California, helped shape a major trend in Modern art for the first time. In this vein, the Blair Collection affords an opportunity to reexamine theses California contributions to Abstract Expressionism. This exhibition continues the Museum’s presentation of exhibitions exploring Bay Area Abstraction Expressionism. In 1996, the Museum originated The San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism, which traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2003, the Museum presented the traveling exhibition, Hassel Smith: 55 Years of Painting accompanied by a full color catalog.