ABSTRACT

EXPRESSIONISM
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
is a World War II movement in American painting,
developed in New York in the 1940s. It was the
first specifically American movement to achieve
international influence and put New York City at
the center of the western art world, a role formerly
filled by Paris

World War I (1913-1914) and World War II (1941-

1945), in particular, shifted the political, economic,
and cultural world stage away from Europe and on
to the New World continent, America.
 The New York School
The New York School was an informal
group of American poets, painters, dancers,
and musicians active in the 1950s and 1960s in
New York City
They often drew inspiration from
surrealism and the contemporary avant-garde
art movements, in particular action painting,
abstract expressionism, jazz, improvisational
theater, experimental music, and the
interaction of friends in the New York City art
world's vanguard circle.
 Action Painting
Sometimes called "gestural abstraction",
is a style of painting in which paint is
spontaneously dribbled, splashed or
smeared onto the canvas, rather than
being carefully applied
The resulting work often emphasizes
the physical act of painting itself as an
essential aspect of the finished work or
concern of its art
Paul Jackson Pollock
(January 28, 1912 August 11, 1956)
Known professionally as Jackson
Pollock, was an American painter and a
major figure in the abstract expressionist
movement. He was well known for his
unique style of drip painting.
Pollock worked on huge canvases spread on the floor,
splattering, squirting, and dribbling paint with (seemingly)
no pre-planned pattern or design in mind. The total effect is
one of vitality, creativity, energy made visible. Pollocks
first one-man show in New York in 1943 focused worldwide
attention on abstract expressionism for the first time.
 Autumn Rhythm
Jackson Pollock, 1950
Oil on canvas
 Color Field Painting
characterized primarily by large fields of
flat, solid color spread across or stained into
the canvas creating areas of unbroken
surface and a flat picture plane.
The movement places less emphasis on
gesture, brushstrokes and action in favour
of an overall consistency of form and
process.
In color field painting "color is freed from
objective context and becomes the subject
in itself
Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz
(September 25, 1903 February 25, 1970)
Mark Rothko was an American painter of
Russian Jewish descent. Although Rothko
himself refused to adhere to any art
movement, he is generally identified as
an abstract expressionist
Magenta, Black, Green on Orange
Mark Rothko, 1949
Oil on canvas
Barnett Newman
(January 29, 1905 July 4, 1970)
He was an American artist. He is seen as one of
the major figures in abstract expressionism and
one of the foremost of the color field painters.
His paintings are existential in tone and
content, explicitly composed with the intention
of communicating a sense of locality, presence,
and contingency
 Vir Heroicus Sublimis
Barnett Newman, 1950-1951
Oil on Canvas
Adolph Gottlieb
(March 14, 1903 March 4, 1974)
He is an American abstract
expressionist painter, sculptor and
printmaker.
He defended the art of the avant-
garde, Abstract Expressionism in
particular for its ability to express
authentic feeling in the face of the trauma
of World War II.
 Forgotten Dream
Adolph Gottlieb, 1946
Oil on canvas
Lenore "Lee" Krassner
(October 27, 1908 June 19, 1984)
She was an American abstract expressionist
painter in the second half of the 20th century.
She is one of the few female artists to have had a
retrospective show at the Museum of Modern
Art
Modernist abstract painter and collage artist Lee
Krasner, wife of Jackson Pollock, created the
'Little Image' painting series and the multimedia
collage 'Milkweed.'
 Abstract No. 2
Lee Krasner, 1948
Oil on canvas