Abstract Expressionism The first truly American visual art form that helped put New York as a cultural capital (perhaps even above Paris). Drawing from Surrealism, they developed the NEW YORK SCHOOL, which comprised action painting, Jazz, abstract expressionism and improvisional theatre. This period of art was special because it was the first to recognize art with NO identifiable subject matter! Jackson Pollock, No. 5, 1948, 1948.

Two Categories for Abstract Expressionism: Action Painting Color-Field Painting

Jackson Pollock Jackson Pollock Affected by surrealism and also by Picasso, he moved toward a highly abstract art in order to express, rather than illustrate, feeling. His experimentations led to the development of his famous "drip" technique, in which he energetically drew or "dripped" complicated linear rhythms onto big canvases, which were often placed flat on the floor.

Jackson Pollock He sometimes applied paint directly from the tube, and at times also used aluminum paint to achieve a glittery effect. His vigorous attack on the canvas and intense devotion to the very act of painting led to the term "action painting."

Died in a drunk driving accident in 1956 Jackson Pollock On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally `in' the painting. Jackson Pollock, 1947. Died in a drunk driving accident in 1956

Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952.

Jackson Pollock, Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950.

Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm: Number 30, 1950.

Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) Dutch-born American Action painter Attempted to combine the expressiveness of Abstract Expressionism with recognizable objects

Willem de Kooning, Asheville, 1948.

Willem de Kooning, Woman V, 1952-53.

Willem de Kooning, Woman I, 1952.

Mark Rothko (1903-1997) Mark Rothko Emigrated to the United States from Russia in 1913 Part of the New York School Used bands of color as the only true means of capturing feeling

Rothko paintings on display Mark Rothko Rothko paintings on display

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko, No.10, 1950. By 1950 Rothko had reduced the number of floating rectangles to two, three, or four and aligned them vertically against a colored ground, arriving at his signature style.

Mark Rothko, White Center, 1950. From that time on he would work almost invariably within this format, suggesting in numerous variations of color and tone an astonishing range of atmospheres and moods. Mark Rothko, White Center, 1950.

Mark Rothko In 1954 he asked that his largest pictures be installed "so that they must be first encountered at close quarters, so that the first experience is to be within the picture."

Rothko after completing his painting, Black Square. Mark Rothko Rothko after completing his painting, Black Square.

Helen Frankenthaler (1928-) Frankenthaler was a “Post-Painterly” Abstract Expressionist whose transparent, bare brushstrokes were influenced by Pollock

Helen Frankenthaler, Other Generations,1957. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM Post-painterly Abstraction was a new movement in painting which derived from the Abstract Expressionism of the 1940s and 1950s but "favored openness or clarity" as opposed to the dense painterly surfaces of that painting style. Helen Frankenthaler, Other Generations,1957. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Helen Frankenthaler The first Jackson Pollock show Frankenthaler saw was in 1951. She had this to say about seeing Pollock's paintings Autumn Rhythm, Number 30, 1950 (1950), Number One (1950), and Lavender Mist: "It was all there. I wanted to live in this land. I had to live there, and master the language." Helen Frankenthaler Seeing the Moon on a Hot Summer Day 1987 ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea,1952. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM