Michelle Consunji

1/3/17
American Regionalism and Abstract Expressionism
At the San Diego Museum of Art, I was drawn to Thomas Bentons After Many
Days. The art period of this piece was American Regionalism. This art movement is
considered a realist modernized art movement in th 1930s to the 1940s. This movement
was at its height in 1935 because of its response to the Great Depression, but soon
ended after World War II.
American Regionalism portrayed scenes of life in the Mid-West and the Deep
South. Benton considered himself an abstractionist and a modernist, and although he
studied art in Paris, he and his colleagues wanted to replace European Abstraction with
a more authentic American form of art. He, and other artists during that time combined
certain art styles to create a mix of American Regionalism and Abstract Expressionism.
Abstract Expressionism was an art movement that followed the end of World War
II in the 1940s. It started in New York City as an American movement and became a
great influence to the art world in the western portion of the United States.
The name of this movement started by comparing different art pieces in New
York without knowing whether it was considered abstract or expressionist. From this,
they decided to combine the two to create Abstract Expressionism. A couple major
influences during this period was Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Surrealism, and even
early Modernism teachers like John D. Graham. These Modernist and Surrealist effects
impacted American Abstract Expressionism by their use of abstract shapes and colors,
and their ability to express something through art.