Few of the artists of California achieved much recognition before the 1970s. Yet their influence was profound, broadening the definition of what art could be, carving out a place for West Coast artistic activity, providing examples of working artists (often as teachers) who were making California something more than New York's outback.
- Beat Culture and the New America: 1950-1965, Whitney Museum of American Art

The Modern Art West collection is focused primarily on museum quality California Abstract Expressionism, and Bay Area Figurative works of art. Important artists from the San Francisco School, the Hans Hofmann influenced Berkeley School, and the Bay Area Figurative movements are included. Despite critical acclaim by museum curators and critics of their era, these historical movements have yet to be fully documented and evaluated.