Harold Rosenberg ’27 (1906–1978)
Harold Rosenberg earned his LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School in 1927 and became one of the most influential American art critics of the twentieth century. Born in New York City in 1906, he emerged as a central figure in the intellectual and artistic life of the postwar period, writing for ARTnews and later for The New Yorker. Rosenberg is widely credited with coining the term “action painting” to describe the dynamic, process-centered work of the Abstract Expressionists, a concept that helped define both the movement and its critical reception. His essays and criticism shaped public and scholarly understanding of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline, and he is regarded as a leading voice of the New York School. Rosenberg’s work remains foundational in modern art criticism, blending philosophy, politics, and aesthetics in ways that continue to influence the field.
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