Abstract Expressionism

"In the years following the end of the Second World War American artists discovered a radically form of expression. Initially denigrated as the 'spatter-and-daub' school of art, the movement quickly found a name--Abstract Expressionism--and a devoted band of admirers. The paintings they made and the vision and principles that guided their work changed forever the way we look at art. Here, for the first time in one volume, the creators and critics of this movement speak for themselves in a collection of essays, magazine and newspaper articles, transcripts of symposia, letters to editors, and private correspondence. The artists included are Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Hans Hoffman, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, David Smith, and Clyfford Still. Among the critics are Robert Coates--who first coined the term 'Abstract Expressionism'--Clement Greenberg, Robert Rosenblum, Meyer Schapiro, and John Canaday. Included as well are many of the reviews that appeared abroad as Europeans became aware of the New World's new vision. The new painters found themselves spoken of--and often ridiculed--as a group, and indeed, they knew each other and frequently met both informally and in symposia and group shows. But their work was highly individual, and the term 'Abstract Expressionism' came to encompass works as varied as Willem de Kooning's explosive, colorful canvases and Ad Reinhardt's cool, symmetrical paintings. Looking back, even from a forty-year perspective, the radical break with the past forged by these artists is astonishing. From what sources did this new aesthetic arise? How can works so different be grouped under one label? Was there, in fact, a common ground at all on which these artists stood? And why did this happen when and where it did? To look for answers to these questions, we must begin with the artists themselves, and with the critics who first saw and talked about their works. Artist/writer Clifford Ross, who compiled this anthology, provides and introduction to the period and the movement. Ross, who graduated from Yale University in 1974 with a degree in art and art history, is the author of Phantasmagorey: The Work of Edward Gorey. His paintings are in numerous collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery." -- Book jacket