Born in Guatemala, Alfred Jensen (1903-1981) was a recognized 20th century abstract painter. Jensen traveled to Munich, Germany, in 1926 to study under Hans Hofmann. There, he met fellow student Saidie Adler May, a wealthy art collector. For the next 34 years, she was a patron of his work, and he accompanied her in extensive travels, together studying the masters throughout Europe and collecting works by artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, William Baziotes, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell,e etc. In 1951, upon her death, the collection was divided among the Baltimore Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
After moving to the United States in 1934, Jensen’s patron Saidie Alder May encouraged him to pursue his interest in color theory and pattern. He used mathematical systems to construct two-dimensional grid paintings and demonstrate color theories, but the work itself is metaphorical, referencing pre-Colombian and Asian cultures, textiles, and divination. After his death in 1981, the Guggenheim organized a major retrospective of his work, having held his solo exhibition there in 1961.
His work is held in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Dallas Museum of Art, Dia Center for the Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Institution and Whitney Museum of American Art.
The Alfred Jensen Estate is represented by the Pace Gallery, New York.