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Lee Krasner was one of the central figures in twentieth century American art, but as the wife of famed abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollack, she was often hidden in the long shadow cast by her husband. Every known example of her work is listed here--some 600 works in oil, collage, mosaic, and on paper--including its exhibition history, provenance, and title changes. Nearly every work is illustrated, and there are 267 plates in full color in this long-awaited reference on one of our most important artists, and one of the few such studies ever devoted to a female artist. Ellen Landau, a professor in the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Museum of Art Joint Program in Art History, is also the author of a monograph on Pollack. ... Read more

Amazon.com

At nearly every stage of her 15-year marriage to the universally recognized Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner was quicker to respond to stylistic innovations in the art world than her husband. Pollock either didn't catch on to the art-world developments that surrounded him or incorporated changes much later than Krasner did. Some critics read Krasner's dynamic painting style as evidence of her superiority as an artist, but others saw her porousness as a problem, and Pollock's comparative insularity as one key to his uniqueness. In Lee Krasner, Robert Hobbs gracefully analyzes the many forces--of personality, education, and cultural and political milieu--that shaped Krasner's 60-year devotion to art; in the process, he elucidates the many reasons her"artistically constructed self remains provisional."

B.H. Friedman, Pollock's first biographer, introduces the book with a gripping series of intimate, you-are-there diary entries from the long years of his friendship with the two artists. Then Hobbs weaves biography and critical interpretation to develop the main text of the book. The reproductions of Krasner's drawings and paintings (97 in color) are excellent, giving a fair picture of her long career, and there are more than a score of black-and-white archival photos of Krasner and the other early abstract expressionists. The book has a few odd omissions though, such as any reference to Mark Tobey, whose "white writing" paintings and others are so closely related stylistically to Krasner's work of the 1940s. Still, this is the respectful but objective book Krasner's vigorous work and forceful personality deserve. It sheds sympathetic light on her lifelong, intellectually rigorous, artistic questing. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A celebration of Lee Krasner
Robert Hobbs' book on Lee Krasner is an excellent introduction to the life and work of this important artist. My first experience of Lee Krasner came through the film "Pollock," a biographical drama about Krasner's husband and fellow artist, Jackson Pollock. I was so impressed by Marcia Gay Harden's passionate portrayal of Krasner in the film that I sought out more information about Krasner, and found Hobbs' book.

This book is filled with full-color reproductions of many of Krasner's paintings. She brought something truly special to the abstract expressionist movement. Her work seems to evoke both the technological energy of an urban environment, as well as primal biological power.

The book also has many wonderful photographs of Krasner at many stages in her life. In his text, Hobbs discusses such subjects as the influence of Krasner's Russian Jewish heritage upon her work. This is a visually striking and thought-provoking book. My suggestion? Read the book, and see the movie "Pollock."

Wonderful Book
This is a great book about Lee Krasner's life and work. Many survey books leave her out so she may be unknown to some people. This book has great color plates and a lot of text which is nice. There are also nice photographs of her. It is a wonderful book for anyone who appreciates art. ... Read more

Book Description

This original and sharply obser-vant book gives newsignificance tothree important figures in the history of twentieth-century art: EvaHesse, LeeKrasner, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Anne Wagner looks at their imagery andcareers,relating their work to three decisive moments in the history of Americanmodernism: the avant-garde of the 1920s, the New York School of the1940s and1950s, and the modernist redefinition undertaken in the 1960s. Theirartisticcontributions were invaluable, Wagner demonstrates, as well as hard-won.Shealso shows that the fact that these artists were womenthe main elementlinkingthe threeis as much the index of difference among their art andexperience asit is a passkey to what they share. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

inviting but not satisfying
I picked up this book after seeing the Hesse retrospective in San Francisco. Although it provides a lot of useful background, the reading the art are somehow too pat. I guess it is a problem to always refer to the artist's life, however fascinating, to explain their work? And the 'feminist' framework did seem forced -- the photos were very suggestive but the author seemed afraid to really go for it. Why is so much academic writing afraid to make a strong argument or provocative, unexpected analysis?

Insightful, scholarly, and accessible
One is reluctant to criticize the reviews of other customers, yet the two reviews prior to mine attempt to force upon Wagner's book both an historical framework and a point of view that are outside of her intended goal. If one reads the book for what it is, one finds a work of analytical insight, scholarship, humanity, and understanding of historical context. Enjoy it, savor it, reflect upon it!

well-reviewed feminist art criticism
Everyone who reviewed it seemed to love this overview of the careers of 3 artists: Krasner, Hesse. It's a fun read, with great photos, but I wish art historians would start to see there's more to the sixties than Hesse: what about Agnes Martin, Lee Bontecou, Yoko Ono, Alison Knowles, and all the rest??

Wagner wants to be a good feminist, but ultimately, her approach is surprisingly traditional: canonical figures, marriage plot, sticks to the US, the known and alrady successful. Wants to avoid being "radical" or disturbing at all costs.

disappointing account of three artists
Wagner presents 3 kay artists but her analysis is thin -- after 200+ pages, we get to the conclusion that "altho gender doesn't entirely determine our lives, it does inflect them..." or something like that. Seems to be totally unaware of feminist work on modernism in other fields (ie lit, film) and never questions the whole "marriage" (heterosexuality) framework she sets up. As a trade press book, it'd be fine, but as a university press book -- seems thin, uninformed. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on December 1, 2000. The length of the article is 3103 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lee Krasner in Brooklyn.
Author: Karen Wilkin
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2000
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 19Issue: 4Page: 49

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Proceso, published by CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V. on November 24, 1996. The length of the article is 1067 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Indefinici n del expresionismo abstracto en el CCAC. (exposici n de pinturas estadounidenses en el Centro Cultural/Arte Contempor neo; M xico)(TT: Lack of definition of the abstract expressionism in the CCAC) (TA: American painting exhibition at the Cultural Center/Contemporary Art; Mexico)
Author: Raquel Tibol
Publication: Proceso (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 24, 1996
Publisher: CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V.
Issue: n1047Page: p58(2)

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more