Lee Krasner in 1926 studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science in Manhattan. In 1928, she transferred to the National Academy of Design and, in 1930, produced her first important work, Self-portrait. After having been briefly influenced by the enigmatic imagery Giorgio De Chirico, Krasner began creating abstract still lifes and diagrammatic studies of figures. Her development, together with Jackson Pollock, at the Peggy Guggenheim Surrealist cycle proved to be very beneficial to the development of her future work. In 1951, she held her first solo exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery and, after the death of Pollock in 1956, she created her most memorable and genuine paintings, large gestural works generated by a strong bodily movement. In the mid 60s, her work became more lyrical and decorative, inspired by a Fauvist approach and, at the end of her career, in the 70s, Krasner returned to collage that she had worked on during the 50s.
