Self-Guide

Abstract Expressionists at the Art Institute of Chicago

In celebration of the new stamp pane from the United States Postal Service, Abstract
Expressionists—which includes the Art Institute’s The Golden Wall by Hans Hofmann—this self-
guide sends you on a short tour of important works from a revolutionary era in American
painting. Deliver yourself to Gallery 289 in the Modern Wing to view each one in person.

Excavation (1950)
by Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning’s virtuoso style was the target of heated controversy early in his career.
As the artist explained in 1951, “I paint this way because I can keep putting more and
more things in—drama, anger, pain, love, a figure, a horse, my ideas about space.” Indeed,
Excavation’s vast and layered canvas contains irregular, oftentimes overlapping shapes
suggestive of birds and fish, eyes, human noses, jaws, necks, and teeth, all rendered by
expressive and varied brushwork.
Willem de Kooning. Excavation, 1950. The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah Goldowsky and Edgar Kaufmann,
Jr.; Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Prize Fund, 1952.1. ©2008 Willem de Kooning/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Greyed Rainbow (1953)

by Jackson Pollock
Welcoming accident and intuition as active participants in his compositions, Jackson
Pollock pushed the boundaries of traditional painting, choosing to work on large unstretched
canvases placed either on the floor or fixed to a wall. His system of drips, splatters, and
lines that animate his works reveal the artist’s subconscious mood and led to the term
“action painting,” coined by the critic Harold Rosenberg. Greyed Rainbow is no exception:
delicate colors emerge from a turmoil of white and black splashes to reveal a lyrical,
rainbow-like landscape hidden among clouds.
Jackson Pollock. Greyed Rainbow, 1953. The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Society for Contemporary American Art, 1955.494.

City Landscape (1955)

by Joan Mitchell

Chicago-born Joan Mitchell, though inspired by first generation Abstract Expressionists

like Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky, shifted the focus of her work from emotional
states to depictions of environments, both natural and manmade. City Landscape, painted
after she moved to New York, captures the city’s unique energy and movement through the
lens of her own experience.  
Joan Mitchell. City Landscape, 1955. The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Society for Contemporary American Art, 1958.193.
 Come see works featured on past United
States Post Office stamps along with all
the other 260,000 works in our collection.

Mary Cassatt. On a Balcony (detail),
1878/79. The Art Institute of Chicago,
Gift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge in
memory of her aunt, Delia Spencere
Field, 1938.18.
Edward Hopper. Nighthawks (detail), Jan Gossart (called Mabuse). Virgin and
1942. The Art Institute of Chicago, Child (detail), c. 1520. The Art Institute
Friends of American Art Collection, of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F.S.
1942.51. Worcester Collection, 1957.47.

New Extended Hours

Beginning March 26, we’re open Friday nights!
Monday–Wednesday, 10:30–5:00
Thursday, 10:30–8:00 (Free Admission 5:00–8:00)
Friday, 10:30–8:00*
Saturday–Sunday, 10:00–5:00

*Extended hours begin March 26. Until then, Fridays hours are 10:30–5:00.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

111 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60603

www.artinstituteofchicago.org