Explanations and Answers to the Essential Questions:
Essential Question #1: How aware of the exact measurements do you think Krasner was when she was painting this or other large-scale works?
When Krasner made paintings this large, she would tack the unstretched canvas to a wall. So while she may have had an idea of the approximate measurement of the painting as she was working on it, it may have been slightly revised when it came time to mount it to the wooden stretcher. You can be sure, however, that she wasn't tracking 1/8th of an inch at any time when working this big.
The first painting in the installation view at the top of the page is titled "The Eye Is the First Circle," 1960, and is from a series of paintings from 1959-1961 often referred to as the "Umber Series." At the time, Krasner was dealing with the death of her husband, Jackson Pollock, as well as the recent death of her mother, and she was suffering from insomnia. So she often painted at night, using artificial light, and her color palette shifted from her more-typical bright colors to dull, monochrome colors, such as black, brown, white and gray. The "Umber" of the series name refers to the predominant color - in this case, "umber" is a natural pigment normally dark yellowish-brown in color ("raw umber") or dark brown when roasted ("burnt umber").
Below are two more paintings in the exhibition from the Umber Series: at left, "Seeded," 1960, oil on canvas measuring 70 3/4 x 109 inches. At right, "Vigil," 1960, oil on canvas measuring 88 3/4 x 70 inches.
Essential Question #2: What do you think made Lee Krasner go from painting realistically via her Academy training to her pure abstraction which we see later on?
Krasner was highly influenced by the opening of the Museum of Modern Art in 1929. She grew critical of the academic style which she had learned at the National Academy, and began studying modern art. In 1937, she began taking classes from Hans Hofmann, who modernized her approach and emphasized the two-dimensional nature of the picture plane and helped her move away from realistic representation in her art.
Essential Question #3: How did Krasner differ from many of the other Abstract Expressionist painters of her era?
Throughout her career, Krasner embraced stylistic change and refused to adopt a singular, recognizable "look" for her art. By changing her work style often, she differed from other abstract expressionists who became known for more-specific styles. Think about it: you hear the name Jackson Pollock, and you think "drip paintings" (although he clearly had a varied number of styles as well). Franz Kline? Black and white paintings. Mark Rothko? Floating rectangles of color. Barnett Newman? "Zip" paintings. While all of these artists truly had variations in their work, those are the first thoughts that come to mind. Let's take a look at a few more paintings from the exhibition to see Krasner's other styles. Below left we have "Imperfect Indicative," a 78 x 72 inch collage on canvas from 1976. Below right we have "Equilibrium," a 46 x 58 inch oil on canvas from 1950.
