In the early 1950s, Rosemarie Beck was on the cusp of fame. The Whitney Museum had acquired and exhibited her work, and influential dealers like Eleanor Ward had taken notice. Born in New York to Hungarian Jewish immigrants, Beck studied at Oberlin College before returning home to become a painter. She joined the second generation of Abstract Expressionists, and was mentored by Robert Motherwell. But in 1958, everything changed. “The ore in my abstract veins had thinned,” Beck said. “I thought I would nourish abstract painting by painting subjects. Then I couldn’t go back.” She experimented with figuration until her death, in 2003. Though her naturalistic work never received the attention of her abstract paintings, Beck had found her voice. At Van Doren Waxter Gallery, more than 25 of these artworks are on view. Many draw on fables and classical myths, revisiting the women at the heart of these stories. —Jeanne Malle