Started in the 1940s, a branch of abstract expressionism displaying vast expanses of intense colors became known as color field painting.
A very particular style, the Colour Field was the direct result of the pictorial freedom of abstract expressionism. The exhibitors saturated their paintings with one, two or three colors, allowing the paintings to dissolve and mix, leaving poorly defined edges and blurring the distinctions between colors. Using extremely personal methods of gestural application, most Colour Field artists avoided figurative elements and produced abstract paintings to inspire reflection, contemplation and meditation. Rejecting all the unimportant details, they created simplified compositions richly painted in "fields" of color. Distinct from action painting, the style began in the late 1940s with Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Barnett Newman (1905-1970) and Clyfford Still (1904-1980), all of whom sought a personal approach to abstraction, modern but spiritual. The influential art critic Clement Greenberg (1909-1994) was a particular supporter of the movement, stating that it was original, innovative and detached from other artistic movements and conventional constraints.

Deliberately avoiding any form of pretense, Colour Field artists presented their paintings and paintings as absolute works of art. Without any suggestion of solidity or depth, the fields or color plans were applied in strips, which seemed to have no beginning or end, and intended to evoke in the spectators personal and subjective emotions.

MAIN ARTISTS: MARK ROTHKO • BARNETT NEWMAN • ROBERT MOTHERWELL • CLYFFORD STILL