A pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, artist Lee Krasner’s pivotal role in that movement and her exceptional contributions to it were largely overshadowed by those of her male contemporaries — in particular, Jackson Pollock, whom she married in 1945.
Lee Krasner was born Lena Krassner in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian-Jewish refugee parents. She attended the Women’s Art School of Cooper Union and the esteemed National Academy of Design, graduating in 1932 during the height of the Great Depression. Krasner supported herself as a model and cocktail waitress until 1934, when she began painting murals for the Works Progress Administration, which kept her steadily employed until the agency closed in 1943. During that time, Krasner studied under Hans Hofmann and became a fixture on the New York art scene, joining the American Abstract Artists and the Artists Union.
A World War II–era commission had Krasner overseeing the creation of 19 pro-war store window displays in New York City. She recruited a handful of artists she dubbed her “misfits” for the project. Among them were Willem de Kooning and Pollock.
Throughout their 11-year marriage, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner had an indelible influence on each other. While he painted in the bright, expansive barn studio, she worked in a small bedroom, where she produced her “Little Images” series, small-scale works loaded with paint, today considered among her most important contributions to Abstract Expressionism.
Lee Krasner’s art includes rich mosaics, Cubist drawings, assemblages and the epochal collages she produced in 1954–55, which incorporated scraps from her and Pollock’s discarded work and echoed the striking palettes of Matisse, one of her heroes. Krasner’s collages remain among her most celebrated pieces.
After Pollock’s death in 1956, Krasner moved into his barn studio, where she created large-scale paintings, including the 17-foot-wide The Seasons. She had her long-overdue first solo exhibition at London’s Whitechapel Gallery in 1965, and her second in 1975 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Those and other major solo exhibitions finally brought her the recognition she deserved for her contributions to the art world.
In 1978, Krasner was given her rightful place next to the likes of Mark Rothko, de Kooning and Pollock in the Whitney’s exhibition “Abstract Expressionism: The Formative Years.” Her U.S. retrospective opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 1983 and ended at the Museum of Modern Art in New York after her death in 1984.
Lee Krasner’s paintings continue to be in high demand. In 2019, her 1960 work The Eye Is the First Circle sold at auction for $11.7 million, breaking her 2017 auction record of $5.5 million.
Find a collection of Lee Krasner art on 1stDibs.
$600
Ashawagh Hall: The Springs Artists' Exhibition Poster /// Female Artist Abstract
By Lee Krasner
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984) Title: "Ashawagh Hall: The Springs Artists' Exhibition" Series: Ashawagh Hall Posters *Signed by Krasner in the...
Lithograph
Free Space - Blue
By Lee Krasner
Located in Toronto, Ontario
The essence of Lee Krasner's (1908-1984) biography is familiar to anyone who has studied women's role in 20th century art history: An accomplished artist whose own output gets eclips...
Screen
La Partie de Campagne
By Fernand Léger
Located in Paris, FR
Lithograph, 1952 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 6/75 Publisher : Maeght (Paris) Printer : Mourlot (Paris) Catalog : Saphire E 14 37.00 cm. x 55.50 cm. 14.57 in. x 2...
Lithograph
La Melodie Acide II
By (after) Joan Miró
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "La Melodie Acide II" 1980 (printed and published in 1983) is a color lithograph on Guarro paper after Joan Miro 1893-1983. It is si...
Lithograph
$800
H 42 in W 34 in
"Untitled" by Joan Thorne (Abstract, Expressionist, Geometric, Red, Vibrant)
By Joan Thorne
Located in New York, NY
The limited edition was printed at Fine Creations Inc. and has the printer's blind stamp on the bottom right. It was published by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The availab...
Screen
Spring 69
By Nancy Genn
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Spring 69" 1969 is an original color lithograph by American artist Nancy Genn, b. 1929. It is hand signed, titled and inscribed Artist Proof in pencil by the artist. The size is 23.75 x 34.65 inches. It is in excellent condition, it has very small marks in the back due to tape removal from previous framing, not visible from the front. About the artist: Nancy Genn is an American artist living and working in Berkeley, California known for works in a variety of media, including paintings, bronze sculpture, printmaking, and handmade paper rooted in the Japanese washi paper making tradition Her work explores geometric abstraction, non-objective form, and calligraphic mark making, and features light, landscape, water, and architecture motifs. She is influenced by her extensive travels, and Asian craft, aesthetics and spiritual traditions. Genn's first noted solo exhibition was in 1955 at Gump's Gallery in San Francisco. She received international recognition through her inclusion in French art critic Michel Tapié’s seminal text Morphologie Autre (1960), which cited her as one of the most important exponents of post-war informal art. Her abstract expressionist paintings of this period, continuing through the mid-1970s, featured all-over compositions of colorful layers of gestural brushwork and calligraphic mark making resembling asemic writing. In 1961, Genn began creating bronze sculptures using the lost-wax casting method. Influenced by noted sculptor and family friend Claire Falkenstein, who used open-formed structures in her work, Genn cast forms woven from long grape vine cuttings, and produced vessels, fountains, fire screens, a menorah, a lectern, and, notably, the Cowell Fountain (1966) at UC Santa Cruz. In 1963 her sculptural work was exhibited with Berkeley artists Peter Voulkos and Harold Paris in the influential exhibition Creative Casting curated by Paul J. Smith at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York. Genn was one of the first American artists to express herself through handmade paper, first receiving wide recognition via exhibitions at Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York, beginning in 1977, and in traveling exhibitions with Robert Rauschenberg and Sam Francis. In 1978-1979, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Japan Creative Arts Fellowship, she studied papermaking in Japan, visiting local paper craftspeople, working in Shikenjo studio in Saitama Prefecture,[5] and exhibiting her work in Tokyo. She also learned techniques from Donald Farnsworth...
Lithograph
Bonac I, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by Larry Zox
By Larry Zox
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Larry Zox Title: Bonac I Year: 1981 Medium: Screenprint, Signed and numbered in Pencil Edition: 160 Size: 42.5 x 29.5 inches
Screen
"Black Gouache" lithograph
By (after) Sol LeWitt
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: lithograph (after the gouache). Printed in 1992 by l'Imprimerie Karcher and published by Nouvelles Editions Seguier in an edition of 1000 for the Sol LeWitt "Black Gouaches" ...
Lithograph
$2,500
H 27.75 in W 22.5 in D 0.1 in
Rare Op Art Mid Century Modern Geometric Abstraction 1969 silkscreen Signed 6/9
By John Grillo
Located in New York, NY
John Grillo Untitled Op Art Mid Century Modern, 1969 Color silkscreen on art paper with deckled edges Signed and dated lower right; numbered 6/9 lower left Limited Edition of only 9...
Screen
Brush
By Joan Mitchell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992) was a leading abstract artist whose prolific career spanned more than four decades. Working in a variety of mediums, including oil, pastel, and printmaking,...
Lithograph
$1,800
H 20 in W 30 in
Sicilian Magician - lt ed silkscreen by renowned abstract expressionist Signed/N
By Walter Darby Bannard
Located in New York, NY
Walter Darby Bannard Siciliian Magician, 1980 Silkscreen on wove paper Pencil signed, titled and dated by the artist on the front Unframed Provenance: Bart Gallery, Providence, RI Th...
Screen
Untitled, 1968
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in San Francisco, CA
This lithograph is by Emerson Woelffer (1914-2003), a noted American abstract artist. The print is untitled, but it depicts a pair of lips, an image that Woellfer used in a number of...
Lithograph
Grey Sweep I, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by Larry Zox
By Larry Zox
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Larry Zox Title: Grey Sweep I Year: 1979 Medium: Screenprint, Signed and numbered in Pencil Edition: 160 Size: 41.5 x 30 inches
Screen
$1,100
H 41.5 in W 30 in
Grey Sweep II, Abstract Expressionist Screenprint by Larry Zox
By Larry Zox
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Larry Zox Title: Grey Sweep II Year: 1979 Medium: Screenprint, Signed and numbered in Pencil Edition: 160 Size: 41.5 x 30 inches
Screen
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H 19.63 in W 26.25 in
Free Space /// Lee Krasner Screenprint Abstract Expressionist Female Artist Art
By Lee Krasner
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984) Title: "Free Space" Portfolio: An American Portrait, 1776-1976 (Vol. 3) *Signed and numbered by Krasner in pencil lower left Year: 1975 Medi...
Screen
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H 29.88 in W 23.75 in
Ashawagh Hall: The Springs Artists' Exhibition Poster (Signed) /// Female Artist
By Lee Krasner
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984) Title: "Ashawagh Hall: The Springs Artists' Exhibition" Series: Ashawagh Hall Posters *Signed and numbered by Krasner in pencil lower center. It is also signed in the plate (printed signature) lower right Year: 1974 Medium: Original Lithograph, Exhibition Poster on heavy wove paper Limited edition: 1/25, (there was also an unsigned edition of approx. 500) Printer: Unknown Publisher: Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY Framing: Recently framed in a contemporary dark brown wood moulding with frame space. All archival Framed size: 29.88" x 23.75" Sheet size: 28.5" x 22.63" Image size: 28" x 22.13" Condition: Colors are attenuated. Some mild water staining that has caused discoloration and general wear lower right. In otherwise good condition will full margins Extremely rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Pompano Beach...
Lithograph
Peace Portfolio
By Lee Krasner
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by scholars, dealers, and curators to reexamine the canon of art history in hopes of including (and reevaluating) more female artists. One of the artists that have been at the forefront of this new mentality and activity is unquestionably Lee Krasner (1908-1984). How and why has she been marginalized from the narrative surrounding the development and importance of Abstract Expressionism is finally being addressed. And finally, she is being appraised as an important contributor to American abstraction and not simply Jackson Pollock's wife. We highly recommend Gail Levin's biography of Lee Krasner. This work, a paradigm of Lee Krasner's signature gestural style, was published in 1970 by the Academic and Professional Action Committee for a Responsible Congress. It was included in the “Peace Portfolio...
Lithograph
Marlborough
By Lee Krasner
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In recent years, there has been a concerted effort, by scholars, dealers, and curators to reexamine the canon of art history in hopes of including (and reevaluating) more female arti...
Lithograph, Offset
Pink Stone (also called Rose Stone)
By Lee Krasner
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed lithograph on Arches paper by American artist Lee Krasner (1908-1984) titled "Pink Stone (also called Rose Stone)", 1969. Hand pencil sig...
Lithograph
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H 40 in W 25 in D 0.1 in
Embrace, Geometric Abstract Silkscreen by Lee Krasner Pollock 1974
By Lee Krasner
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lee Lenore Krasner, American (1908 - 1984) Title: Embrace Year: 1974 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200 Paper Size: 40 x 25 inches (101.6 x 63.5 cm)
Screen
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H 12 in W 18 in
Poem /// Abstract Expressionist Female Artist Post-War NY Modern Lithograph MoMA
By Lee Krasner
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Lee Krasner (American, 1908-1984) Title: "Poem" Portfolio: In Memory of My Feelings *Issued unsigned Year: 1967 (First edition) Medium: Original Lithograph on Mohawk Superfine Smooth paper Limited edition: 514/2,500 Printer: Crafton Graphic Company, Inc., New York, NY Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Reference: "Lee Krasner: A Catalogue Raisonné" - Landau No. 447, page 236-237; "Lee Krasner" - Hobbs No. 64, page 143 Sheet size: 12" x 18" Condition: In excellent condition Rare Notes: With centerfold as issued. Numbered on colophon page. Comes from the 1967 "In Memory of My Feelings: A Selection of Poems" book volume by Frank O'Hara with approx. 46 unbound original lithographs by various artists. Collaboration: Edward Katz (printing). The last image of the complete book is for reference/provenance; it is not included. This image Krasner contributed to "In Memory of My Feelings: A Selection of Poems" by Frank O'Hara, edited by Bill Berkson, for the Museum of Modern Art. The project was published in 1967 in memory of Frank O'Hara, poet and associate curator at the museum, who died in a tragic accident in 1966. Bill Berkson (with the assistance of Kenneth Koch and John Ashbery) selected the poems and (with advice from Robert Motherwell) asked the following artists to contribute: Nell Blaine, Norman Bluhm, Joe Branaird, John Buton, Giorgio Cavallon, Allan D'Arcangelo, Elaine de Kooning, Willem de Kooning, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Michael Goldberg, Philip Guston, Grace Hartigan, Al Held, Jasper Johns, Matsumi Kanemitsu, Alex Katz, Lee Krasner, Alfred Leslie, Roy Lichtenstein, Marisol, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Reuben Nakian, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, and Jane Wilson...
Lithograph
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H 40 in W 25 in D 0.1 in
Embrace, Geometric Abstract Silkscreen by Lee Krasner Pollock 1974
By Lee Krasner
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lee Lenore Krasner, American (1908 - 1984) Title: Embrace Year: 1974 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200 Paper Size: 40 x 25 inches (101.6 x 63.5 cm)
Screen
Free Space - Lee Krasner - Serigraph - Contemporary
By Lee Krasner
Located in Roma, IT
Free Space is an original serigraph on paper, created by the female artist Lee Krasner, a major exponent of Abstract Expressionism. Edition of 52/175, numb...
Screen
Peace, Abstract Silkscreen by Lee Krasner Pollock
By Lee Krasner
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lee Lenore Krasner Title: Peace from the Peace Portfolio Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen on Arches Paper, Signed and Numbered in Pencil Edition: 165/175 Size: 21 in. x 26 in. (...
Screen
Peace, Abstract Silkscreen by Lee Krasner Pollock
By Lee Krasner
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lee Lenore Krasner Title: Peace from the Peace Portfolio Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen on Arches Paper, Signed and Numbered in Pencil Edition: 165/175 Size: 21 in. x 26 in. (...
Screen
Free Space
By Lee Krasner
Located in Missouri, MO
"Free Space" 1975 Color Screenprint Artist Signed Lower Center "Lee Krasner" and Numbered XXII/L Image Size: approx 19 x 26 inches Framed Size: approx 24.25 x 30.25 inchesmodern A...
Screen