Monroe’s works reflect his participation within several of the major cultural movements of the twentieth century. Born in the Bedford Stuyvesant District of Brooklyn, New York in 1935 he was steeped in the NY School of Abstract Expressionism, studying with Hans Hoffman, rubbing shoulders with Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline,and hanging out at the Cedar Bar. Following his service in the Korean War in the 1950s, Monroe moved to California’s Bay Area entering the heart of the Jazz and Beat scene of writers, musicians, poets, and painters. Lawrence Ferlinghetti gave him his first one-person show at City Lights Bookstore in North Beach.
October 11, 2024
