Abstract Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism was the first major American art movement to achieve international influence. Emerging in New York in the 1940s, largely among artists who had absorbed European Surrealism and were grappling with the trauma of World War II, it celebrated the expressive potential of paint itself — divorced from representation. Two broad tendencies defined it: Action Painting (Pollock, de Kooning), where the physical act of mark-making was paramount; and Colour Field Painting (Rothko, Newman), which pursued emotional transcendence through expanses of pure colour.
Defining characteristics
- Non-representational, non-objective imagery
- Large-scale canvases meant to envelop the viewer
- Emphasis on process and spontaneous gesture
- Raw, unmediated emotional expression
- Influence of Jungian psychology and Surrealist automatism
- New York as the new centre of the art world
Action Painting
Artists for whom the physical act of painting — dripping, pouring, slashing — was central.
Jackson Pollock
1912–1956 · Pioneer
Developed his signature "drip technique" by placing canvases on the floor and pouring or flicking paint across them. His work shifted focus from the image to the act of creation.
No. 31 (1950)
Oil and enamel on canvas · Museum of Modern Art, New York
A monumental drip painting from his most celebrated period.
Willem de Kooning
1904–1997 · Leading figure
Combined fierce gestural energy with the human figure — particularly the Female series — in works of violent, erotic ambiguity.
Woman I (1950–1952)
Oil on canvas · Museum of Modern Art, New York
Two years of reworking produced this ferocious image of the female figure.
Colour Field
Artists pursuing spiritual depth through vast, unbroken expanses of colour.
Mark Rothko
1903–1970 · Leading figure
Reduced painting to soft-edged rectangles of luminous colour, seeking a direct emotional and spiritual impact on the viewer. He described his work as tragedy, ecstasy, and doom.
No. 61 (Rust and Blue) (1953)
Oil on canvas · Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
A characteristic Rothko of two hovering colour fields.
Related movements
Expressionism
1905–1930s
A German-led movement that distorted form and colour to convey raw emotion, anxiety, and the turmoil of the modern world.
Surrealism
1920s–1950s
A revolutionary movement that plumbed the unconscious mind, dreams, and irrational imagery to liberate human experience from rational constraints.