[1] Born and educated near Munich, he was active in the early twentieth-century European avant-garde and brought a deep understanding and synthesis of Symbolism, Neo-impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism when he emigrated to the United States in 1932.

[2] Hofmann's painting is characterized by its rigorous concern with pictorial structure and unity, spatial illusionism, and use of bold color for expressive means.

[6] His presence in New York teaching had a significant influence on post-war American avant-garde artists—including Joseph Glasco,[7] Helen Frankenthaler, Nell Blaine, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Louise Nevelson, and Larry Rivers, among many—as well as on the theories of Greenberg, in his emphasis on the medium, picture plane, and unity of the work.

[6] Between 1900 and 1904, Hofmann met his future wife, Maria "Miz" Wolfegg (1885–1963) in Munich, and also became acquainted with Philipp Freudenberg, owner of Berlin's high-end department store, Kaufhaus Gerson, and an avid art collector.

Forced to return to Germany, and excluded from military service because of a respiratory condition, Hofmann opened an art school in Munich in 1915, developing a reputation as a forward-thinking instructor.

Two years later, Hofmann married Renate Schmitz, who remained with him until his death from a heart attack in New York City on February 17, 1966, just prior to his 86th birthday.

"[12] Hofmann's work in the 1940s was championed by several key figures who initiated a new era of growing influence for art dealers and galleries, including Peggy Guggenheim, Betty Parsons, and Samuel M. Kootz.

[6] Critic Clement Greenberg regarded that show—and Jackson Pollock's a few months prior—as a "break-out" from the "cramping hold of Synthetic Cubism" on American painting, which opened the path to the more painterly style of abstract expressionism.

In his review of the retrospective, critic Harold Rosenberg wrote, "No American artist could mount a show of greater coherent variety than Hans Hofmann.

"[6] In 1960, Hofmann was selected to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale, alongside Philip Guston, Franz Kline and Theodore Roszak.

[19] In 1963, The Museum of Modern Art gave a full-scale retrospective, organized by William Seitz, with a catalogue that included excerpts from Hofmann's writings.

This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural institute at the University of North Florida and supported by The Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust.

His hands-on teaching methods included ongoing discussion of art theory, life drawing sessions, and regular critiques from Hofmann himself, a practice which was a rarity in the Academy.

[6] By the mid-1920s, he attained a reputation as a forward-thinking teacher and was attracting an international array of students seeking more avant-garde instruction, including Alf Bayrle, Alfred Jensen, Louise Nevelson, Wolfgang Paalen, Worth Ryder,[23] and Bistra Vinarova.

Many notable artists studied with him, including Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Ray Eames, Larry Rivers, Allan Kaprow, Red Grooms, Nell Blaine, Irene Rice Pereira, Gerome Kamrowski, Ward Jackson, Fritz Bultman, Israel Levitan, Robert De Niro, Sr., Jane Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Marisol Escobar, Burgoyne Diller, Alexandra Luke, James Gahagan, Richard Stankiewicz, Lillian Orlowsky, Louisa Matthíasdóttir, Linda Lindeberg, and Nína Tryggvadóttir.

"[35] Hofmann believed in remaining faithful to the flatness of the canvas support, and that to suggest depth and movement in a painting an artist must create what he called "push and pull" in the image—contrasts of color, form, and texture.

In 1932, he wrote: "Providing leadership by teachers and support of developing artists is a national duty, an insurance of spiritual solidarity, What we do for art, we do for ourselves and for our children and the future.

After Renate's death in 1992, the New York Daily News published an article titled, "From Caviar to Cat Food," which detailed the "sad and tortuous story" of Hofmann's widow.