Why those hazy rectangles, and why should I care? Here’s why.
Abstract Expressionism
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.
Paint Application Studies of Jackson Pollock’s Mural
In a series that occupied most of his career, Motherwell addresses the violence of the Spanish Civil War.
Robert Motherwell, Elegy to the Spanish Republic ...
Painting was a performative act for Pollock, who moved around and through the unstretched and unprimed canvas.
Why is that important? Looking at Jackson ...
What’s “heroic” about a painting that looks like a craft project on HGTV? This comparison suggests an answer.
Representation and abstraction: looking at Millais and ...
Why did Newman see this simple painting as an important breakthrough?
Barnett Newman, Onement, I
If you’re not in tears, you may not understand this painting—at least according to the artist.
Mark Rothko, No. 3/No. 13
Pollock’s largest painting is a step on his road to action painting, but he wasn’t yet painting on the floor.