Barnett Newman biography reveals his 1933 mayoral run and artistic legacy

A new biography, 'Barnett Newman: Here' by Amy Newman (no relation), explores the life of Abstract Expressionist Barnett Newman (1905–70), including his 1933 run for New York mayor at age 28, before he had produced any paintings. Running under the banner 'The Need for Political Action by Men of Culture,' he proposed a platform with a Clean Air Department, waterfront parks, free music and art schools, a municipal opera house, street cafés, and slum clearance. He lost to Fiorello La Guardia. The book details his upbringing as the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland on Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, his studies in philosophy at City College of New York, and his reinvention as a painter. Newman's first 'zip' painting, 'Onement I,' created on his 43rd birthday, marked his signature style. The biography also covers his contentious relationships, including a dispute with Mark Rothko over the orientation of 'Horizon Light,' and the 1959 documenta II display of 'Cathedra' (1951), which critics likened to a table-tennis table. Newman's later synagogue designs, modeled on a baseball field, are discussed, as is his lifelong engagement with Jewish culture, reflected in works like 'Abraham' (1949) and 'Adam' (1951–52). The book is published by Princeton University Press, 728pp, $39.95/£35, released October 28, 2025 (US) and January 6, 2026 (UK).