Abstract Expressionist Women Get Deep Dive

While the Abstract Expressionist movement is often synonymous with names like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, their female contemporaries were instrumental pioneers, though frequently overlooked in a male-dominated art world. These women faced significant gender bias, with their work often dismissed by critics with gendered language or excluded from important galleries and social circles like the Cedar Tavern. Artists like Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning were often seen primarily in relation to their famous husbands, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, which overshadowed their own significant artistic contributions. In fact, Krasner, already an established artist, introduced Pollock to influential contacts. Some female artists even used male-sounding names, like Michael West and George (Grace) Hartigan, to navigate the era's sexism. The movement was not confined to New York; a concurrent and supportive scene for women artists was flourishing in San Francisco. Artists like Jay DeFeo, Sonia Gechtoff, and Deborah Remington were key figures in the Bay Area, though Gechtoff and Remington later encountered the gender bias prevalent in the New York art scene. This reassessment of the Abstract Expressionist movement brings to light the innovative techniques and powerful statements made by these women. Helen Frankenthaler, for instance, developed the "stain" technique of pouring thinned paint onto unprimed canvas, which paved the way for Color Field painting. Elaine de Kooning's "Faceless Men" series challenged the male-dominated art world by obscuring the features of her famous male contemporaries.