The Abstract Expressionist movement, recognized as the first American art movement with worldwide influence, is characterized by the non-representational use of color as a means of personal expression. It emerged in the United States in the 1940s, with leading figures being Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning.

The Abstract Expressionist movement gave birth to many different stylistic trends, with two particularly prominent subcategories: action painting, represented by de Kooning and Pollock, and color field painting, most famously known through Rothko. Abstract Expressionists aimed to convey emotions and ideas through the creation of marks, shapes, textures, hues, and the unique quality of brushstrokes. The movement favored large canvases and embraced the role of chance or accident.

This book includes works by 20 central artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement and showcases the specific movement that shifted the art world's focus from Paris to New York, remaining for many the golden moment of American art.