Figurative Expressionist Jay Milder, Co-Founder of City Gallery, Dies at 92

Jay Milder, a painter known for bold abstractions of New York City life and co-founder of the artist-run City Gallery, died on May 27 at age 92 from a stroke. His passing was announced by Eric Firestone Gallery, which represented him since 2022. Born in Omaha in 1934, Milder moved to New York after high school and became a key figure in the downtown art scene as a Figurative Expressionist and cooperative gallerist. In 1958, he co-founded City Gallery with Red Grooms in their shared Flatiron loft, mounting early New York shows for Claes Oldenburg and Jim Dine. The gallery operated only through 1959 but marked a shift toward anti-establishment experimental art. Milder's series 'Subway Runners' (1960–64) debuted at Martha Jackson Gallery in 1964 and was revisited in a 2022 solo show at Eric Firestone Gallery. His works are held in the Brooklyn Museum and New Museum. He studied with Ossip Zadkine and André Lhote in Paris, recruited Ed Clark as a mentor, and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. Milder incorporated Kabbalistic numerology into his paintings, reflecting his grandfather's influence as a Jewish mystic.