As Europe recovered from the Second World War, the United States consolidated its political, economic and cultural position.
From 1943 to the mid-1950s, abstract expressionism became the first specifically North American artistic movement to have an international impact. Therefore, in the art world, attention has shifted from Europe to New York. Originally known as the "New York School," abstract expressionists organized their first exhibitions in the mid-1940s. They formed a small group of unincorporated artists, with similar perspectives, but with different approaches. Largely inspired by surrealism, they believed in spontaneity, freedom of expression and the abandonment of the themes of American life that had characterized national art in recent decades. The impact of the Second World War helped to launch this movement. Horrified by his atrocities, the artists expressed their feelings through painting, inspired by the surrealist technique of automation, although it is clear that most of them were perfectly capable of conducting their art. They created a dynamic and energetic art, sometimes impressive also by its dimensions, which also became known as action painting or gesturalism.

Abstract expressionists wanted to find something under superficial appearance and express their inner emotions. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was the principal interpreter, and his expressive and radical technique consisted of pouring, spraying and splashing paint onto huge rough canvases on the ground, using sticks, spatulas and knives, and using his entire body to create his paintings.

MAIN ARTISTS: JACKSON POLLOCK • WILLEM DE KOONING • PHILIP GUSTON • LEE KRASNER • ARSHILE GORKY • FRANZ KLINE