Art: Straight Lines & Curves

Manhattan's 57th Street is where artist meets buyers in the U.S. The art dealers, who have to charge up to 50% commission to pay 57th Street's high rents, and the art critics, who have to scurry all season to cover the Street's scores of important shows, both regard 57th as the yardstick of art. Last week the scurrying slowed, the season waned, and dealers and critics sat back to review the "trends."

More artists were painting more abstractions than ever before. Even so, the standouts of the season were not abstractionists, but men who put awareness of nature and strong emotions ahead...