1919 Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism

The term Abstract Expressionism was used for the first time in 1919 to describe the work of Kandinsky, but is now used to define some post world war two art. In the 1940's in America, particularly New York artists were creating art in a new style one that shifted the art world's focus. Though they were not formally associated, these artists all shared some common ideas. This group was referred to as "The New York School" or "Abstract Expressionists". This type of art represented something substantial, as it is considered to be the first form of American art that was of international importance. There are many factors that led to its creation, previous art movements, the art happening in Europe at the time, and
This was at the time after the great depression and the government had instated relief programs, which helped unemployed Americans and let many of these artists begin a career in art. During the depression there were two main art movements; Regionalism and Surrealism, however these did not satisfy this group of artists. One huge influence was the new accessibility to see European art. In 1929 the Museum of Modern Art opened and there was an increase in venues to where art was shown. However, the main event that occurred that influenced this movement was the war and then its aftermath. The artists saw the dark side of man and the vulnerability of humans and wanted to show this as well as their concerns through their art. After the war, there was even more direct contact with European artists and surrealism introduced more possibilities with their ideas about the
He was born in 1910 in Pennyslvania to immigrant parents. He was an athlete in high school, but had an accident at football practice that left him unable to play. It was during this time that he began drawing and concluded that he wanted to become an illustrator. He began his training in Boston and later enrolled at Heatherley's School of Fine Arts in London, England. He was unable to obtain citizenship there so he returned to the states and moved to New York, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1939 he began to show his work, he painted urban views New York with an expressionist twist. He worked with a well known set designer and also painted murals. In 1943 he met William de Kooning, He borrowed from him a Bell Opticon projector and used it to enlarge a drawing he had done of a chair onto a canvas. The chair became abstract and Kline was fascinated with how it looked. This in combination with the mental illness of his wife are thought to be credited for his move into abstraction. His fist one man show was a series of black and white calligraphic images. This show was very well received and he grew increasingly popular. He was part of many shows in the 1950's and prices for his work rapidly increased. Unfortuanately, he did not enjoy his success for a very long time because he became ill in 1961 and passed in 1962. He said, ‘The final test of an painting, theirs, mine or any other, is: does the painter's emotion come