Art Term

Action painters

The term action painters is applied to artists working from the 1940s until the early 1960s whose approach to painting emphasized the physical act of painting as an essential part of the finished work

Jackson Pollock
Number 23 (1948)
Tate

© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2023

Their process, involved splashing, using gestural brushstrokes and dripping paint onto canvas rather than carefully applying it. The term 'action painting' was coined by Harold Rosenberg in his groundbreaking article The American Action Painters published in ARTnews in December 1952.

Rosenberg was referring to artists such as Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock.

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Related Terms and Concepts

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  • Automatism

    In art, automatism refers to creating art without conscious thought, accessing material from the unconscious mind as part of the creative process

  • Formlessness

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  • Abstract expressionism

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Explore this term

  • Jackson Pollock 1950 Action Painting

    Jackson Pollock: 5 Things

    A new exhibition at Tate Liverpool looks afresh at the pioneering and iconic American artist Jackson Pollock. Scrutinising some of the blind spots in a relatively neglected area of his work, here are five things you might not have known about Jackson Pollock

  • Painter Jackson Pollock working in his studio, dropping paint onto canvas

    Jackson Pollock: Separating Man from Myth

    Mike Pinnington

    Jackson Pollock's reputation – salacious untruths in tow – often precedes him. With an exhibition at Tate Liverpool exploring the blind spots in Pollock's practice, Mike Pinnington thought it was a good time to address and dispel some of the folklore that has grown up around this ground-breaking artist’s life and times.

Selected artists in the collection

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Selected artworks in the collection

Action Painters at Tate

  • Arshile Gorky a retrospective exhibition banner

    Tate Modern
    Exhibition

    Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective

    10 Feb – 3 May 2010

    Exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life and work of Arshile Gorky at Tate Modern 10 February to 3 May 2010

  • Exhibition banner for Niki de Saint Phalle at Tate Liverpool

    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Exhibition

    Niki de Saint Phalle

    1 Feb – 5 May 2008

    Niki de Saint Phalle; past exhibition at Tate Liverpool

  • Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots

    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Exhibition

    Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots

    30 Jun – 18 Oct 2015

    Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots presents the first exhibition in more than three decades of Pollock’s paintings made between 1951 and 1953. Tate Liverpool, 30 June–18 October 2015

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