What’s on the Abstract Expressionism poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
The first American movement to lead internationally, roughly 1943 to 1960. It set large-scale abstraction and the act of painting against European figuration and social realism.
- Gestural: Pollock, de Kooning, Krasner, Kline.
- Colour field: Rothko, Newman, Still, Frankenthaler.
- Scale is the argument: the canvas exceeds the body.
- Pollock poured onto unstretched canvas from 1947.
- Greenberg's criticism made flatness the criterion.
- Promoted abroad during the Cold War as free expression.
- Period — about 1943 to 1960
- Centre — New York
- Rothko wanted his canvases hung low and viewed from about 45 cm away.
Contested: how far the CIA's cultural programme shaped the movement's international reach is still argued by historians.
Questions about the Abstract Expressionism poster
- What’s on the Abstract Expressionism poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. The first American movement to lead internationally, roughly 1943 to 1960. It set large-scale abstraction and the act of painting against European figuration and social realism. Gestural: Pollock, de Kooning, Krasner, Kline.; Colour field: Rothko, Newman, Still, Frankenthaler.; Scale is the argument: the canvas exceeds the body.; Pollock poured onto unstretched canvas from 1947.; Greenberg's criticism made flatness the criterion.; Promoted abroad during the Cold War as free expression.; Period — about 1943 to 1960; Centre — New York; Rothko wanted his canvases hung low and viewed from about 45 cm away.. Contested: how far the CIA's cultural programme shaped the movement's international reach is still argued by historians.
- Who is the Abstract Expressionism poster for?
- Abstract Expressionism belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning art history can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Abstract Expressionism poster?
- Use it to tell gestural painting from colour field painting. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Abstract Expressionism belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Abstract Expressionism?
- Arts & Crafts, Bauhaus and Constructivism sit alongside Abstract Expressionism in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Arts & CraftsBauhausConstructivism
- Is the Abstract Expressionism poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Abstract Expressionism downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Abstract Expressionism poster print at?
- Abstract Expressionism is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Abstract Expressionism loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Abstract Expressionism on the same wall.
Browse every Art & Design poster, or start from the full catalogue.