Georges Mathieu

Georges Mathieu (1921–2012) was a French painter associated with lyrical abstraction and one of the leading figures of postwar European abstraction. In 1947, he settled in Paris, where he developed a gestural, calligraphic style parallel to Abstract Expressionism in the United States. Within this milieu, he was connected with John Cage, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Michel Tapié, and Francis Picabia, among other prominent artists.

Mathieu was also part of the broader Paris-based artistic community in which Barbara Chase-Riboud would later become active. The two first met in London in 1961 and became friends. In November of that year, following her graduation from Yale and arrival in Paris, Mathieu came to meet her at the airport.