The early style of American artists was based mainly on English painting. Although several American artists became well known in the 19th century, it was only in the 20th century that the United States began to have a major influence on the international art world.
The first prominent art movement in the United States was Realism, which depicted contemporary social realities and the lives of ordinary people. Abstract Expressionism was the first specifically American movement to gain international influence., It emphasized the transport of strong emotional or expressive content through abstraction. It was followed by the Pop Art movement, which was characterized by the use of recognizable images from popular culture such as advertisements, celebrities, and comic book characters.
The United States also played an important role in modernism, neo-expressionism and graffiti art. Many of the best-known artists of the modern era hail from the United States including realist Edward Hopper, modernist Georgia O’Keeffe, abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock, pop artist Andy Warhol, and graffiti artist Keith Haring., Read more on the visual art of the United States through the 10 most famous American artists and their masterpieces.
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Duration: July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976
One of the most important sculptors of the twentieth century and perhaps the most famous American sculptor Alexander Calder is famous for his invention of the furniture, an abstract sculpture that moves in response to touch or air currents, exploiting the principle of balance. In addition to cell phones, Calder has made static sculptures called stabiles, wire sculptures, toys, theater sets, oil and tempera paintings, and even jewelry and numerous household items. Calder also created monumental sculptures including. 125 for New York City’s JFK Airport in 1957; Spiral for UNESCO in Paris the following year; and the largest sculpture of him El Sol Rojo in 1968 outside the Aztec stadium for the New Mexico Summer Olympic Games. Two months after his death in November 1976,
Masterpiece: Calder’s Circus (1926-1931)
Calder’s Circus (1931) – Alexander Calder
Other Famous Works: –
Flamingo (1974)
Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939)
Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Lifespan: February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978
Norman Rockwell was a prolific artist, producing more than 4,000 original works in his lifetime., Most of his works were created as cover illustrations of Saturday Evening Post magazine and later Look magazine. Rockwell is most famous for his illustrations of everyday life; to capture the spirit of small town America; and for the patriotic depictions of him during World War II. In 1943, he created four paintings corresponding to the four freedoms mentioned by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his famous 1941 speech. The paintings; Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Need and Freedom from Fear; are among his best-known works of his., Rockwell has not won critical acclaim with art critics who do not consider him a “serious painter”.
Masterpiece: Four Freedoms series (1943)
Freedom from Want (1943) – Norman Rockwell
Other Famous Works: –
The Problem We All Live With (1964)
Rosie the Riveter (1943)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Lifespan: December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988
Homeless and unemployed, Jean-Michel Basquiat began his career as a graffiti artist., The graffiti art movement reached its peak in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1976, Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz started painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan. They used the pseudonym of SAMO, an acronym for “Same Old Shit”. SAMO soon received media attention, but the duo disbanded and the project ended in 1979. In the early 1980s, Basquiat quickly rose to become one of the best-known artists in the United States. His art has focused on “suggestive dichotomies”, such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation and interior versus exterior experience., Jean-Michel Basquiat is perhaps the most famous American artist of the Neo-Expressionist movement, characterized by intense subjectivity and a rough manipulation of materials. He died of a heroin overdose at the age of only 27.,
Scull (1981) – Jean-Michel Basquiat
Other Famous Works: –
Trumpet (1984)
Flexible (1982)
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Lifespan: October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997
Roy Lichtenstein initially worked in Cubism and Abstract Expressionism before moving to Pop Art, the genre in which he made his mark., The first time his work was exhibited, he was called an imitator by many art critics as his works resembled much to the originals. Life magazine went so far as to publish an article whose title asked “Is He the Worst Artist in the United States?” The artists responded by saying, “The closer my work is to the original, the more threatening and critical the content is.” . Over time, Roy Lichtenstein became one of the leading artists of the Pop Art movement, which dominated the American art world., His best known works, usually inspired by popular advertising and comics, have become iconic images of the movement. .
Masterpiece: Whaam! (1963)
Whaam !, (1963) – Roy Lichtenstein
Other Famous Works: –
Drowning Girl (1963)
Oh, Jeff … I Love You Too Much … But … (1964)
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Duration: July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967
Edward Hopper’s art is marked by a modicum of action with almost no sign of life and mobility; and the use of dramatic means to suggest the psychological states of his subjects., Hopper’s individuals, usually portrayed isolated and disconnected from their environments, revealed the loneliness of modern life. In addition, he forced his viewer to play an active role in completing the narrative of his works. This has been hugely influential for the art world as it has resulted in art movements where the primary role in understanding the artwork has been left to the viewer. America’s most famous realist painter, Edward Hopper is said to have painted a more revealing portrait of twentieth-century America than any other artist.,
Masterpiece: Nighthawks (1942)
Nighthawks (1942) – Edward Hopper
Other Famous Works: –
Automat (1927)
New York Film (1939)
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Duration: September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970
Mark Rothko, or Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, belonged to a Jewish family of Russian descent who emigrated to the United States when he was a child., He moved through a number of styles in his artistic career, including surrealism, before develop your own signature style. Rothko is considered a pioneer of color painting, a style within abstract expressionism in which color is the main subject itself. Although Rothko is regarded as one of the leading abstract artists, he insisted that he was not an abstract artist as his primary focus was on discovering the mysticism and esoteric aspects of colors and its combinations. Painting was a method of spiritual expression for Rothko and many viewers burst into tears at his works.,
Masterpiece: Orange, Red, Yellow (1961)
Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) – Mark Rothko
Other Famous Abstract Works: –
Untitled (Black on Gray) (1970)
No., 10 (1950)
Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Duration: May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990
Keith Haring was introduced to art at an early age by his father, who made being a cartoonist as a hobby. In 1978, Haring arrived in New York and became aware of the burgeoning underground graffiti art scene there. He has produced thousands of public drawings and has become one of the most renowned graffiti artists. He was also arrested for vandalism on numerous occasions., As public interest in his art grew, Haring had his first solo exhibition in 1981. Throughout the 1980s he produced dozens of murals and public works throughout the world, including in Europe, South America and Australia. Gradually even the fine art establishment had to recognize his talent. Keith Haring brought elements of what has been termed “low art” into the previously exclusive “high art” spaces of museums and galleries. His art of him is known to be deceptively simple while containing deeper themes of birth, death, love, sexuality, war and social harmony., IS Wack (1986)
Crack is Wack (1986) – Keith Haring
Other Famous Abstract Works: –
Tuttomondo (1989)
Free South Africa (1985)
Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe
Duration: November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986
American Modernism was an artistic-cultural movement that reached a peak between the two World Wars., It was characterized by a deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression. Georgia O’Keeffe became the leading figure of American modernism by challenging the boundaries of the artistic style with her paintings, which combined abstraction and representation. She is most famous for her dramatically large, sensual close-up of flowers which essentially made them into abstract works. Georgia O’Keeffe has been very significant in influencing gender balance in the art scene. 20th century art.
Black Iris III (1926) – Georgia O’Keeffe
Other Famous Works: –
Cow Skull: Red, White and Blue (1931)
Radiator Building – Night, New York (1927)
Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Duration: January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956
Drip painting is a form of abstract art in which paint is dripped or poured onto canvas rather than being applied carefully., Jackson Pollock is the most famous practitioner of drip painting to the extent that he was nicknamed “Jack the Dripper” from TIME magazine. Pollock’s technique of pouring and dripping paint popularized the term action painting, a method in which the physical act of painting itself is an essential aspect of the finished work. His most famous works include Blue Poles, which was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973 for a million 1.3 million, a world record for a contemporary American painting; and No., 5, 1948, which created the world record for the highest price paid for a painting when it was sold for a price of 140 million million. Jackson Pollock was the preeminent figure of the abstract expressionist movement. He is the most famous American abstract artist and one of the leading figures of 20th century art., Issue 5, 1948
Issue 5, 1948 – Jackson Pollock
Other Famous Works: –
Issue 11, 1952 (Blue Poly)
One: Number 31, 1950
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Duration: 6 August 1928 – 22 February 1987
Born Andrew Warhola, Andy Warhol is the best known and most influential artist of Pop Art, to the point that he is known as the “Pope of Pop”., The non-pictorial style and commercial aspects of his paintings initially caused offense as they dealt with the technique and philosophy of abstract expressionism, the then dominant style in the United States. His works created an uproar in the American art world and the resulting controversy made Warhol a household name. Warhol was a prolific artist and explored a wide variety of media including painting, screen printing, photography, film and sculpture. His paintings are among the most expensive ever sold., The highest price paid for a Warhol painting is US million 105 million for a 1963 canvas titled Silver Car Crash while, if you adjust for inflation, his most expensive painting is Otto Elvises at US US 111.2. While many still doubt the merit of his work, Andy Warhol is arguably America’s most famous artist.,
Masterpiece: Marilyn Diptych (1962)
Marilyn Diptych (1962)
Other Famous Works: –
Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962)
Eight Elvises (1963)
