Ad Reinhardt began his studies in literature and art history under Meyer Shapiro at Columbia University in New York from 1931–1935. He trained as a painter following graduation, enrolling at the National Academy of Design and later at the American Artists' School on 14th Street. In 1937, Reinhardt became a member of the newly formed American Abstract Artists and was funded through the Easel Division of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project through 1941. In 1946, he joined the Betty Parson Gallery and the next year, began teaching art history at Brooklyn College. Though Reinhardt is closely identified with Abstract Expressionism, his focus on geometric forms and grid structures make his work an influence on Minimalism and Conceptual art of the 1960s and 1970s.
