Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism is the most important art movement since the Second World War. Although it is often considered a revolution in painting alone – for the images created by such leading figures as Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko remain altogether extraordinary – its radical spirit extended further, encompassing the sculpture of David Smith and Aaron Siskind’s photography.

Along with other key artists such as Barnett Newman and Franz Kline, these artists formed a nucleus united not just against the tensions of American society from the 1930s onwards, but also in their aim to forge diverse new visual languages.

David Anfam, curator of the major Abstract Expressionism show at the Royal Academy in 2016, explores the movement in terms of its political implications and rich cultural contexts, bringing many fresh insights to the works themselves.

Taking into account a wealth of scholarship, this new edition also has nearly one hundred works reproduced in colour.

David Anfam is Senior Consulting Curator at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver and the Director of its Research Center. Among his previous books is Jackson Pollock’s Mural: Energy Made Visible, also published by Thames & Hudson.