Perle Fine created the Accordment Series from 1969 through the mid-1980s. This group of paintings is a culmination of all of the modes of painting that came before. Fine named the series “accordment” meaning “an agreement” or “acceptance.”1 In the 1940s, the grid structure became an important element for Fine based on Piet Mondrian’s theories, which made a huge impact on her creative decisions. “He freed every artist,” she said.
Fine’s connection with Minimalism is clear. Kathleen Housley states in her seminal book, Tranquil Power: The Art and Life of Perle Fine: “Close in age and in temperament, Fine and [Agnes] Martin shared many similarities, one being that their art was routinely described by critics as ‘atmospheric’ and ‘classic.’”3 The two artists appeared together in a group show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1962 called Geometric Abstraction in America. Perle Fine’s grids are set apart from minimalist tendencies by using colorful lines, planes of color, and sweeping brushstrokes. Housley