Abstract Expressionism: A Critical Record

Abstract Expressionism was the dominant movement in experimental American painting from the 1940s through the early 1960s. This book is a collection of articles, reviews and essays that chronicle the history of the movement. Drawing upon a range of sources, including newspapers, magazines and exhibition catalogues, the original debates about the validity of ‘action painting’ are dramatically illustrated, and can be compared with later, retrospective views. The articles selected for the volume include classic statements from the most influential and prolific critics, including Clement Greenberg, Harold Rosenberg, and Hilton Kramer. However the Shapiros have also striven to include iconoclasts from the 1950s and 1960s such as Leon Golub and John Canaday to suggest the full range of critical discussion. Six representative artists are the subject of extended sections that include biographical chronologies, reviews, and the artists’ own comments: Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko.

Preface; Introduction: A brief history David Shapiro and Cecile Shapiro; 1. Origins; 2. The critical reception; 3. The artists and their critics; Bibliography; Index.