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Jackson Pollock: Mural
The product of a contract with Peggy Guggenheim Mural was created after a long creative drought for Pollock. The artist claims to have created Mural in a single session after having overcome his initial mental block. Mural is lauded as a turning point in American art sensibility, popularizing the form of abstract impressionism and Pollocks subsequent works. -
Robert Morthwell Pancho Villa, Dead and Alive
An early work in the field of abstract expressionism which has a clear and direct subject matter. This work is viewed somewhat as a transition between representationalism and abstraction. It is the artist’s direct reaction to a photograph Motherwell saw of the revolutionary Pancho Villia. The work features two forms humanlike in their compositions with different backgrounds to suggest the life and death of Pancho Villia. -
Hans Hoffman The Wind
A combination of both the surrealist and expressionist genres The Wind is an early experimentation with the “drip” method which would come to be popularized by Jackson Pollock. The color choices of black blue and white evoke notions of the colors of the sky and clouds. -
William Baziotes Cylops
Cyclops was inspired in by Baziotes encounter at a zoo with a Rhinoceros. The resulting work is a combination of both the beast Baziotes encountered and the mythical cyclops. The overall aesthetic of the piece is a result of Baziotes experimentation with the process of automatic drawing. Whereby the artist allowed himself to make marks across the canvas without regard for the form they were taking. This method is said to let the subconscious freely express itself. -
Barnett Newman Onement I
The word Onement translates to atonement and to be made into one. The central band of brighter color became Newman’s signature known as a “zip” which was employed in many of his future works. Newman viewed the zip as a means of drawing together the two sides of the canvas as opposed to dividing it. -
Clifford Still 1948-C
1948-C represents Still’s emergence as an abstract artist, abandoning traditional forms in favor of a more ambiguous fashion. The color schemes used in 1948-C prominently feature yellows which and sporadic use of reds, darker colors, and the white of the canvas itself. Variations of shade create a sense of depth. Meant to communicate the artists view on life and death sharing a “fearful union”. -
Lee Krasner Composition
Inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock Krasner transitioned from a more traditional artist into an abstract expressionist, employing Pollock’s “Drip” technique for portions of this work. Composition is a a combination of techniques seeing the artist first draw the design and later paint over it to arrive at the final composition. -
Willem De Kooning Attic
Part of a series of black and white works. The artist depicts what to be a series of human like forms contorted in non-human forms. Many attribute this work to Koonig’s lack of economic resources at the time and the relatively inexpensive nature of creating in only black and white as an alternative to multi-colored works found in other periods of his career. However, a movement toward black and white works had become prominent amongst many artists most famously present in Picasso’s Guernica. -
Jackson Pollock Number 1 (Lavender Mist)
Number 1 is an example of Pollock’s now famous “drip” style, whereby the artist would let loose paint over a canvas rather than directly applying it in a traditional fashion. Pollock viewed this technique as ritualistic and a means of being directly connected with his art. The second title of Lavender Mist was suggested by art critic Clement Greenberg who said of it “On the canvas was not a picture, but an event”. -
Willem De Kooning Woman I
Originally started in 1950 Woman I is the product of two years of revisions. His painting style so visceral that holes could often be found in the canvases which he worked on. Due to the long span of time the work took Kooning would often wrap the painting in newspaper to preserve the work he had accomplished, resulting in imprints left behind. -
David Smith Agricola V
An early work of sculpture in Smith's catalog Agricola V is composed of discarded farm tools and meant to evoke the artists connection to American agriculture. The composition is meant also to evoke comparisons to totems used in more ancient cultures than the one inhabited by Smith. -
Mark Rothko No. 61 (Rust and Blue)
Three uneven bands of color, dark red, blue, and silver. Emblematic of Rothko’s style at this given time No. 61 features bands of color with blurred colors combining into a larger piece. The bands of color layered to create a feeling of depth and engage the viewer to find the painting’s “inner light”. No. 61 is said to depict a religious subject matter although that components of that distinction are never fully defined by the artist. -
Phillip Guston Zone
Guston’s work Zone is meant to create in its viewer of warm centeredness as evidenced by its color pallet culminating in the center of the painting with a patch of bright red. A heavily layered composition the result of a barrage of short brush strokes. -
Robert Morthwell Je T'aime No.2
A reflection of Motherwell’s state of mind during the final stages of his second marriage the title translates to “I Love You”. The frenetic composition of the work suggest a the artists tumultuous mental state at the time of its creation. Motherwell’s work at this time featured the frequent use of rectangular shapes which are present in this work but obscured, suggesting that the artist felt in a sense alienated from his own sense of self. In the foreground of the painting written in black pain -
Franz Kline Four Square
A work notable for its angular components a departure from Kline’s previous work. Four Square is also notable for its depiction of a three dimensional object as opposed the the two dimensional works most often explored by other artists within the field. The subject of the painting is left the the viewers interpretation. -
John Chmberlain Cord
A steel sculpture the welded together by the artist. Cord presents a work unlike any other in selected for this project given its medium The metal components of Cord are contorted to face one another drawing the viewers eye to the negative space created in the midst of its various parts. -
James Brooks Boon
A friend of both Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner Brooks is considered a member of the first wave of abstract expressionists. His style is described as featuring “painterly accidents”. Using a method of staining whereby he would dilute oil paints to create his works, Brooks created artscapes, which featured indiscernible shapes and vivid colors. -
Lee Krasner Thaw
An expression of Krasner’s joyful feelings surrounding the changing of seasons from winter to spring Thaw depicts the reemergence of plant and animal life at the conclusion of the cold months. The energy contained in Thaw is a positive and focused one a-typical of the abstract expressionist movement. Thaw is a work inspired by the works of Henri Matisse who often depicted the natural world in his works. The flora depicted within Thaw are unlike the plant life found on earth, however, still aptly -
Mark Rothko Four Darks in Red
A late entry into Rothko’s catalog Four Darks in Red is typical of this era in the painters career when he chose to work with darker colors as opposed to the lighter colors typical of his early career. Painted on a ten foot wide canvas, the heavily layered painting was meant to reflect the darker emotions associated with the human experience. -
Mark Tobey Illuminated Plane
Described as having an “all over” style Mark Tobey was in a sense a disciple of Jackson Pollock’s as the artist advocated on Tobey’s behalf after his own rise to prominence. The density of the images contained within Illuminated Plane serve to create a feeling of depth and disorientation.
