Abstract impressionism

Abstract impressionism is a contested label for painting that keeps the Impressionist habit of looking - en plein air, responsive to light and atmosphere - while stripping away the recognizable scene. The term is attributed to the painter and critic Elaine de Kooning and was popularized by Louis Finkelstein to describe Philip Guston's work of the mid-1950s, as an alternative to the aggressive stance of Abstract Expressionism. Lawrence Alloway's 1958 London exhibition, showing 26 paintings by 23 artists including Nicolas de Stael, Peter Lanyon and Sam Francis, gave the idea its first public airing. Critics doubted the label ever named a coherent movement - Alan Bowness called it 'just another ism' - yet it usefully points at a real family of paintings: coloristic, brushy, atmospheric abstraction anchored in observed nature rather than pure invention.

Defining characteristics

• Short, loaded brushstrokes built up in layers, like late Impressionism
• Outdoor (en plein air) practice, chasing atmosphere rather than topography
• Subject suggested but dissolved: landscape or scene reduced to masses of color
• Overall atmospheric effect valued over exactness or realism
• Varied degrees of abstraction, from near-figuration to pure color

Key figures

• Philip Guston (1913-1980) — The painter the label was first applied to, an alternative to Abstract Expressionism
• Elaine de Kooning (1920-1986) — Painter-critic credited with coining the term in the 1950s
• Nicolas de Stael (1914-1955) — Landscape abstraction poised between figuration and pure color
• Sam Francis (1923-1994) — Luminous open-color painting shown in Alloway's 1958 exhibition
• Patrick Heron (1920-1999) — British color abstractionist in the 1958 exhibition

Example works

• Landscape Study — Nicolas de Stael (1952)
• Before the Event — Harold Cohen (1963)
• Azalea Garden: May 1956 — Patrick Heron (1956)

Sources

• Abstract impressionism - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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