Lee Krasner

1908–1984

In the mid and late 1940s, Lee Krasner, one of the few women associated with Abstract Expressionism’s first generation, developed compositions comprised of small, interconnected boxes with symbols that she described as hieroglyphic. Using a limited palette and paint applied in thick, controlled drips, Krasner achieved the nonhierarchical, allover format that she and her Abstract Expressionists peers favored.

Yet the diminutive scale of Krasner’s early work was in part a consequence of her studio space. Krasner completed many of these canvases in an upstairs bedroom of the Long Island home she shared with her husband, Jackson Pollock. After she recovered from the shock of Pollock’s death in a car accident in 1956, Krasner began to paint in the barn on their property that had previously been his studio. She made the most of the increased space: nearly seventeen feet wide and more than seven feet in height, The Seasons was the largest work she had attempted up to that point.

The composition, a signal example of a group of late 1950s paintings often referred to as the Earth Green series, interweaves sweeping black brushstrokes with swaths of pink, bulbous shapes in off-white, and sections of lush green. Her energetic markings evoke the female body and botanical forms, organic elements tied to growth and the inevitable cycles of nature. Krasner explained that in the wake of the sudden loss of her husband, “the question came up whether one would continue painting at all, and I guess this was my answer.”

Dana Miller and Adam D. Weinberg, Handbook of the Collection (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2015), 211.

Wikipedia entry

Introduction

Lenore "Lee" Krasner (born Lena Krassner; October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984) was an American painter and visual artist active primarily in New York whose work has been associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. She received her early academic training at the Women's Art School of Cooper Union, and the National Academy of Design from 1928 to 1932. Krasner's exposure to Post-Impressionism at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art in 1929 led to a sustained interest in modern art. In 1937, she enrolled in classes taught by Hans Hofmann, which led her to integrate influences of Cubism into her paintings. During the Great Depression, Krasner joined the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, transitioning to war propaganda artworks during the War Services era.

By the 1940s, Krasner was an established figure among the American abstract artists of the New York School, with a network including painters such as Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko. However, Krasner's career was often overshadowed by that of her husband, Jackson Pollock, whom she married in 1945. Their life was marred by Pollock's infidelity and alcoholism, while his untimely death in a drunk-driving incident in 1956 had a deep emotional impact on Krasner. The late 1950s to the early 1960s in Krasner's work were characterized by a more expressive and gestural style. In her later years, she received broader artistic and commercial recognition and shifted toward large horizontal paintings marked by hard-edge lines and bright contrasting colors.

During her life, Krasner received numerous honorary degrees, including Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Stony Brook University. Following Krasner's death in 1984, critic Robert Hughes described her as "the Mother Courage of Abstract Expressionism" and a posthumous retrospective exhibition of her work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, New York and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation were established to preserve the work and cultural influence of her and her husband. The latter has since focused on supporting new artists and art historical scholarship in American art.

Wikidata identifier

Q237959

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Getty record

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, painter

ULAN identifier

500010144

Names

Lee Krasner, Lee Pollock Krasner, Lenore Krasner, Lenore Krassner, Lee Pollock, Lee Krasner Pollock, Mrs. Jackson Pollock

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed May 12, 2025.

Not on view

First acquired
1960

Date of birth
October 27, 1908

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