Editing Abstract impressionism (section)

== History ==

=== Terminology ===
{{See also|Abstract expressionism|Impressionism}}

The coining of the term ''abstract impressionism'' has been attributed to painter and critic [[Elaine de Kooning]] in the 1950s.<ref name=":5" /> The introduction of this term and the associated artworks both preceded and legitimised its first exhibition in 1958, curated by [[Lawrence Alloway]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Hall|first=Lee|title=Elaine and Bill, Portrait of a Marriage: The Lives of Willem and Elaine de Kooning|publisher=Cooper Square Publishing|year=2000|isbn=9780060183059|location=Michigan}}</ref>

The term, after being coined by Elaine de Kooning,<ref name=":5" /> is considered to have been popularised by artist and critic [[Louis Finkelstein (artist)|Louis Finkelstein]] to describe the works of [[Philip Guston]], in order to distinguish his art from that of the growing field of [[abstract expressionism|Abstract Expressionism]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|last=Elderfield|first=John|title=Morris Louis: The Museum of Modern Art, New York.|last2=Louis|first2=Morris|publisher=Little Brown & Co.|year=1986|isbn=0870704184|location=Boston}}</ref> Phillip Guston's rise within artistic and social spheres in the mid-1950s was a determining factor in the development and profiling of abstract impressionism.<ref name=":0" /> His paintings were considered by Finkelstein to be simultaneously extensions of Abstract Expressionism and also oppositions of, or alternatives to, the aggressiveness of Abstract Expressionism.<ref name=":0" />

After applying the term to Guston, Finkelstein continued to use "abstract impressionism" to describe new artworks and artistic practices in the 1950s, in [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> He believed and purported that emerging forms of artmaking provided a unique opportunity to redefine and re-evaluate a series of artists who, despite being raised around the ideals and norms of Abstract Expressionism, were moving more towards reinvigorating the ideals of the traditional [[Impressionism|Impressionist movement]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

=== Alloway's exhibition ===
[[Image:Jean-Paul Riopelle, Untitled, 1953, oil on canvas, 114 x 145 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Jean-Paul Riopelle]], 1953, ''Untitled'', oil on canvas, {{convert|114|x|145|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}}, [[Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes]], France]]

Lawrence Alloway's exhibition, the first of its kind for abstract impressionism, featured 26 paintings by 23 artists.<ref name=":11" /> The idea for the exhibition came from the Fine Art Department of the [[University of Nottingham]], and took place at the Arts Council Gallery in St. James' Square.<ref name=":11" />

The artists featured were from [[England]], [[France]], and the [[United States]], with their various works prefaced by a ''"lengthy catalogue"''<ref name=":11" /> written by Alloway himself. [[Alan Bowness]], a critic of the show, recalled [[Nicolas de Staël]], [[Peter Lanyon]], and [[Sam Francis]] to be participating artists in the exhibition.<ref name=":11" />

=== Differentiation ===
{{See also|Cubism|Futurism|Abstract art|Impressionism}}

Both the exhibition and the movement in general were considered by many to highlight a distinct differentiation from preceding movements,<ref name=":1" /> despite some critics, like Alan Bowness, arguing the works of the movement were not differentiated enough from previous works.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" />

Despite this controversy, abstract impressionism has been considered an ideological opposition to the other post-war movements of the era- specifically its growing countermovements, [[Cubism]] and [[Futurism]].<ref name=":2" /> Whilst Futurism focussed on rejecting the art of the past,<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Futurism {{!}} Definition, Manifesto, Artists, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Futurism|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> abstract impressionism sought to incorporate techniques from numerous movements before it.<ref name=":2" /> This included both the [[Abstract art|Abstract]] and [[Impressionism|Impressionist]] movements of the early 1900s and the 1860s respectively.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Denvir|first=Bernard|title=The Chronicle of Impressionism: A Timeline History of Impressionist Art|publisher=Bulfinch Press|year=1993|isbn=082122042X|location=Boston}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Gaff|first=Jackie|title=1910-1920 The Birth of Abstract Art: A History of Modern Art|publisher=Heinemann Library|year=2000|isbn=0836828496|location=Oxford}}</ref> Additionally, abstract impressionists were unwilling to subscribe to the rationality and mathematic precision of Cubism.<ref name=":0" /> They rejected the idea of creating an image out of divided parts, and instead sought to create a mass of colour and imagery, that would only be recognisable as a whole.<ref name=":0" />

Abstract impressionism has been considered a result from an artist deviation from the ''"expressionistic aggressiveness of the forties"'', and the simultaneous embracing of both new abstraction techniques and more traditional roots of nature and lyrical appreciation.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Seitz|first=William|date=1956-10-01|title=Monet and Abstract Painting|journal=College Art Journal|volume=16|pages=34–46|jstor=}}</ref>

In terms of distinguishing themselves from traditional Impressionist works, abstract impressionists deviate in a way that Elaine de Kooning describes as ''"keep[ing] the Impressionist manner of looking at a scene, but [leaving] out the scene... thereby giving an old style a new subject"''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=De Kooning|first=Elaine|title=The Spirit of Abstract Expressionism: Selected Writings|publisher=George Braziller|year=1955|isbn=978-0807613375|location=New York|pages=62}}</ref> Simply put, they add abstraction onto Impressionism and take away the reliance on specificity and exactness.