His paintings explore the sense of place that viewers experience with art and incorporate the simplest forms to emphasize this feeling.

Newman met Annalee Greenhouse in 1934 while both were working as substitute teachers at Grover Cleveland High School; they were married on June 30, 1936.

For the artists are the first men.Newman wrote catalogue forewords and reviews as well as organized exhibitions, He then became a member of the Uptown Group and had his first solo show at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1948.

"[5] Using his writing skills, Newman fought to reinforce his newly established image as an artist and to promote his work.

According to art historian April Kingsley, the zip in Newman's paintings are 'flashing light of a nuclear explosion and the old testament pillar of fire', thus mixing the paradox of romantic sublime with the depiction of destruction and transcendence.

[10]: 511 Although Newman's paintings appear to be purely abstract, and many of them were originally untitled, the names he later gave them hinted at specific subjects being addressed, often with a Jewish theme.

The Stations of the Cross series of black and white paintings (1958–1966), begun shortly after Newman had recovered from a heart attack, usually is regarded as the peak of his achievement.

Newman also worked on shaped canvases late in life, with Chartres (1969), for example, being triangular, and returned to sculpture, making a small number of sleek pieces in steel.

In 1948, Newman, William Baziotes, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and David Hare founded the Subjects of the Artist School at 35 East 8th Street.

These Well-attended lectures were open to the public, with speakers such as Jean Arp, John Cage and Ad Reinhardt, but the art school failed financially and closed in the spring of 1949.

The foundation functions as his official estate and serves "to encourage the study and understanding of Barnett Newman's life and works.

[19] Consigned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and previously part of Frederick R. Weisman's collection, Newman's 8.5-by-10-foot Onement VI (1953) was sold for a record $43.8 million at Sotheby's New York in 2013; its sale was ensured by an undisclosed third-party guarantee.