In the early 1950s, Al Held moved to Paris. This was a pivotal juncture in Held's early development and Paris gave him the distance he needed to break with the trending expressionist painters in New York City.
Shirley Kaplan earned a grant to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière when she was just seventeen years old, already having shown her works in New York galleries. In Paris she found many opportunities for growth in the classroom and beyond. Ossip Zadkine offered free life drawing classes. She found studio space at the cooperative Académie Colarossi close to her studies. In these various settings she met other American artists including Sam Francis, Norman Bluhm, George Sugarman, Ed Clark, Sal Romano, and Al Held. Kaplan's memories of Held describe him as, "...very outspoken about his views of art and society."
Al Held returned to New York in 1953, as did Shirley Kaplan. She shared her studio with Norman Bluhm until he found his own space. The friendships Kaplan made in Paris spilled over to New York where she would meet up with her friends at the Cedar Bar and the Five Spot. Her friendship with Al Held included visits to each other's studio and, on one visit to Kaplan's studio Held delivered "Untitled, (#344)" as a gift.
Shirley Kaplan showed with museums and galleries including The Stable Gallery, Terry Dintenfass Gallery, and the Hacker Gallery in New York.
