Abstract Expressionism

The definitive study of the most important movement in postwar American art, now in paperback

Now available in paperback, this is the definitive book on abstract expressionism, with superb color plates of major works by the protagonists of the movement as well as lesser-known figures, and essays by key scholars. Working primarily in New York and San Francisco from the 1940s on, a generation of American artists injected a new sense of confidence in painting, experimenting with improvisation, spontaneity and color. This bold publication reevaluates the movement, making the case that, far from being unified, abstract expressionism was in fact complex and ever-changing. Included here are full-color plates of works by Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Tobey, Bradley Walker Tomlin and Jack Tworkov, among others. Among the abundant archival materials are images of Hans Hofmann’s famous classes; artists such as Krasner, Frankenthaler, Pollock and de Kooning in their studios; installation shots of some of the key international exhibitions of the era, both internationally and at the galleries of Betty Parsons and others; and photos of famous locations where these artists thrashed out their aesthetic concerns, such as the Cedar Street Tavern. Also featuring a superb chronology of the period, this landmark publication is a thrilling survey of an incredibly energetic moment in American art.

David Anfam is author of the now-standard 1990 textbook Abstract Expressionism.
Susan Davidson is a senior curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Jeremy Lewison is former director of collections at Tate.
Carter Ratcliff is an art critic, writer, and poet, and the author of numerous books on art.