American abstract expressionist painter (1908–1984)
Lee Krasner
Krasner in 1983
Born
Lena Krassner
(1908-10-27)October 27, 1908
New York City, U.S.
Died
June 19, 1984(1984-06-19) (aged 75)
New York City, U.S.
Education
Cooper Union National Academy of Design Hans Hofmann
Known for
Painting, collage
Movement
Abstract expressionism
Spouse
Jackson Pollock
(m. 1945; died 1956)
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,[1] 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 accident in 1956 had a deep emotional impact on Krasner.[2][3] 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.[4] 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.
^Nemser, Cindy (1973-12-01). "Lee Krasner's Paintings, 1946–49". Artforum. Retrieved 2024-04-21. Lee Krasner is a vital and influential member of the first generation of the New York School.
^Cooke, Rachel (2019-05-12). "Reframing Lee Krasner, the artist formerly known as Mrs Pollock". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-04-21. Pollock was killed in a car accident, having taken the wheel while drunk, in 1956, at the age of 44. Though he and Krasner were by then somewhat estranged (...), she was overcome with grief; there are those who believe she never fully recovered from the shock.
^Farago, Jason (2019-08-19). "Lee Krasner, Hiding in Plain Sight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-21. Krasner received little attention from museums until her 60s, and she has rarely stepped out of the shadow of Jackson Pollock, her husband from 1945 until his early death in 1956.
^"Lee Krasner Lauded in Memorial Service at the Met Museum". The New York Times. 18 September 1984. pp. Section B, Page 8. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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...
with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist LeeKrasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy. Pollock...
McMath Larry Krasner (born 1961), American lawyer, District Attorney of Philadelphia LeeKrasner (1908–1984), American artist Pollock-Krasner House and Studio...
1990 Coen brothers' film Miller's Crossing. For her portrayal of artist LeeKrasner in the 2000 biographical film Pollock, she won the Academy Award for...
used house or industrial paint to create his paintings—Pollock's wife LeeKrasner described his palette as "typically a can or two of … enamel, thinned...
wrote on Krasner's work, describing her as "one of the seminal forces among the Abstract Expressionists"; in a 1977 article entitled "LeeKrasner and the...
Gallery, Artists: Man and Wife, which also included Jackson Pollock and LeeKrasner, Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, and Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp...
nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Her performance as artist LeeKrasner in the 2000 film Pollock received critical acclaim, earning her the Academy...
avant-garde artists—including Joseph Glasco, Helen Frankenthaler, Nell Blaine, LeeKrasner, Joan Mitchell, Louise Nevelson, and Larry Rivers, among many—as well...
Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, John Ferren, and LeeKrasner, as well as local poets, dancers, and musicians came to be known as the...
Marca-Relli and Jane Frank by the early 1960s. The intensely self-critical LeeKrasner also frequently destroyed her own paintings by cutting them into pieces...
paintings were shown alongside works by Kay Sage, Leonora Carrington, LeeKrasner, Dorothea Tanning, and Frida Kahlo. In her painting, Guggenheim often...
During his early years in New York, Alfonso Ossorio, Jackson Pollock, LeeKrasner and others were friends and influences. Other influences on Glasco's...
Furlong, David Smith, and Hans Hofmann, among others. Milton Avery, LeeKrasner, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Tony Smith, Morris Graves and others...
Ismail Gulgee Philip Guston Grace Hartigan Franz Kline Albert Kotin LeeKrasner Alfred Leslie Conrad Marca-Relli Georges Mathieu Joan Mitchell Jackson...
influential voice for American painting, and among his students was LeeKrasner, who introduced her teacher, Hofmann, to her husband, Jackson Pollock...
and alone, talking painting materials and great art.": 31 Along with LeeKrasner, Grace Hartigan, Helen Frankenthaler, Shirley Jaffe, Elaine de Kooning...
2017 Hartigan was one of the subjects of the book Ninth Street Women: LeeKrasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler:...
actor (b. 1906) Meredith Willson, American composer (b. 1902) June 19 – LeeKrasner, American painter (b. 1908) June 20 – Estelle Winwood, English actress...
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