Abstract Expressionism was an American post-World War II art movement between 1946-1960. It was characterized as spontaneous, focusing on the inner psyche through unconventional and informal abstract works using energetic gesture, as seen in works by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Franz Kline. The artists asserted that subject was critical and they aimed to create adventure into imagination through fancy-free works opposed to common sense.

1. Abstract Expressionism1946 – 1960

2. What is Abstract Expressionism?

3. 1940-1960

4. "To us, art is an adventure into an unknown world of the imagination which is fancy-free and violently opposed to common sense. There is no such thing as a good painting about nothing. We assert that the subject is critical." - New York Times (June 1943), Gottlieb, Rothko, and Newman

6. Abstract Expressionism is…Spontaneous

7. Number 28, 1950, Jackson Pollock

8. Jackson Pollack Drip and Pour

9. Abstract Expressionism is…The Inner Psyche

10. Woman, 1950Willem de Kooning

11. Abstract Expressionism is…Unconventional

12. Adolph GottliebPink Ground, 1972

13. Abstract Expressionism is…informal

14. No. 13 (White, Red, on Yellow), 1958Mark RothkoRothko said, "I paint big to be intimate." The notion is toward the personal (authentic expression of the individual) rather than the grandiose.

15. Abstract Expressionism is…Energetic Gesture

16. Black Reflections, 1959Franz Kline

17. Now it’s your turn!

18. The Artists

20. Citations http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm (Accessed 27 March 2010).