Stripes of industrial spray paint on this canvas recall the industrial city and undersides of highways
Abstract Expressionism
Lewis leaves behind the figure for abstracted fragments at the end of World War II
Norman Lewis, Untitled
Delaney celebrates the famous opera singer Marian Anderson as a modern icon of Black excellence and civil rights
Beauford Delaney, Marian Anderson
"To use the whole social fabric of our society as a point of departure for abstraction reanimates it, dusts it off."
Mark Bradford on Clyfford Still
Looking closely at Jackson Pollock's great drip painting, Autumn Rhythm
Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm
Abstract expressionism invites us in
Finding meaning in abstraction
Why those hazy rectangles, and why should I care? Here’s why.
The Case for Mark Rothko
Pollock dripped, flung, scattered, and poured paint on canvases spread out on the floor—but why?
The Case for Jackson Pollock
Just because a painting isn’t full of angels doesn’t mean it isn’t spiritual and transcendent.
Mark Rothko, No. 210/No. 211 (Orange), 1960
De Kooning painted image after image on this canvas, continually wiping it down and starting again.
Willem de Kooning, Woman, I
Krasner severed the link between art and the everyday world, making important breakthroughs in abstraction.
Lee Krasner, Untitled
Rothko wanted his paintings hung as low as possible, so the viewer could enter the painting.
Mark Rothko (at MoMA)
What happens when a painting is vandalized? See how conservators at Tate leapt into action to save a painting.
Restoring Rothko
Newman called the lines in his paintings “zips.” Learn how they’re made and how they work.
The Painting Techniques of Barnett Newman
What separates Newman’s paintings from what a house painter paints?
Barnett Newman
Kline’s gallerist broke into his studio and replaced cheap paint with fine art paint—but Kline didn’t thank him.
The Painting Techniques of Franz Kline
Abstract Expressionists are sometimes thought of as solitary figures—Kline wasn’t.
Franz Kline
Radiography and historic photographs helped conservators uncover what this painting looked like before restoration.
Conservation: Jackson Pollock, One: Number 31, 1950
Pollock drew in space with thin, industrially-produced paints over a canvas on the floor—learn how!
The Painting Techniques of Jackson Pollock
Learn how Pollock produced this early painting, before turning to the technique known as action painting.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
