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Abstract Impressionism is an art movement that originated in New York City, in the 1940s. It entails the painting of real-life scenes, or objects in an Impressionist-style, but with an emphasis on varying measures of abstraction. The paintings are often painted en plein air, an artistic style involving painting outside with the landscape directly in front of the artist. The movement works delicately between the lines of pure abstraction and the allowance of an impression of reality.

History
The first coining of the term “Abstract Impressionism” has been attributed to painter and critic Elaine de Kooning in the 1950s, preceding and legitimising its first exhibition in 1958 (curated by Lawrence Alloway). This exhibition, and the movement in general, marked a distinct differentiation from preceding movements.

Abstract Impressionism has been considered an ideological opposition to the other post-war movements of the era, specifically its growing countermovements, Cubism and Futurism. Futurism focussed on rejecting the art of the past ; however, Abstract Impressionism incorporated techniques from numerous movements before it. This includes both the Abstract and Impressionist movements of the early 1900s and the 1860s respectively,.

The term, after being coined by de Kooning, was supposedly popularised by art critic Louis Finkelstein (artist) to describe the works of Philip Guston, in order to distinguish his art from that of Abstract Expressionism.

Criticism
Abstract Impressionism has been criticised for its legitimacy. After one of its early exhibitions at the Arts Gallery Council in St. James Square, Alan Bowness (a highly regarded art critic and historian) described Abstract Impressionism as “just another ‘ism’”, without “the catalogue for the adoption of this new term [being] very convincing”. The main point of contention regards a difficulty separating the movement from other art periods, such as Abstract Expressionism, Lyrical Abstraction or Post-Impressionism.

Stylistically, another issue has been the widely varying degrees of abstraction in the movement, that may make visual uniformity difficult. Bowness notes that he finds it difficult to comprehend any unity between the artworks, and concludes that there is no movement that could rightfully claim all of them

Another mode of controversy comes in attempting to categorise Abstract Impressionism within other movements. Art historians Simon Watney and Roger Fry confer on whether Abstract Impressionism may be considered a “second stage” of Post-Impressionism, or perhaps more related to the Bloomsbury Abstraction period.

Furthermore, many artists that the Abstract Impressionist movement has claimed- such as Milton Resnick, Sam Francis, Nicolas de Staël, or Jackson Pollock - are simultaneously considered to be members of other more widely recognised movements, such as Abstract Expressionism.



Style
The style of Abstract Impressionism focusses on the portrayal of real life through simplification and abstraction. The amount of abstraction varies from painting to painting. Like Impressionism, the artworks feature short brushstrokes with paint “loaded” onto the brush. Paintings have been described to resemble late-Impressionist pictures in their technique, like those of Monet, but without the representative content, meaning they have lesser levels of realism. Abstract Impressionist style also relies largely on the painting embracing the concept of en plein air. However, unlike traditional en plain air artworks, the level of exactness in the painting is seen to be less important than overall atmospheric effect.

Abstract Impressionists have been described to be largely inspired by modern advances in and changing attitudes towards color theory and “did not hesitate to apply innovative techniques to their painting, considered revolutionary at the time”.

Notable Artists
As aforementioned, notable artists and artworks of this movement are subject to controversy and possible subjectivity. As such, each claim is referenced.

At the first Abstract Impressionist exhibition, curated by Lawrence Alloway, took place in London.The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists lists the following artists as its subjects :


 * Bernard Cohen (painter)
 * Harold Cohen (artist)
 * Sam Francis
 * Patrick Heron
 * Nicolas de Staël

The following is a comprehensive list of artists who have been associated with the movement ,


 * Bernard Cohen
 * Harold Cohen
 * Sam Francis
 * Patrick Heron
 * Nicolas de Staël
 * Milton Resnick
 * Richard Pousette-Dart
 * Jean-Paul Riopelle
 * William Duvall
 * Phillip Guston
 * Jackson Pollock
 * Willem de Kooning
 * Joan Mitchell

Notable Artworks

 * Sam Francis: Black and Red


 * Julius Reque: Abstract Impressionism in Photography
 * Bernard Cohen: In That Moment
 * Nicolas de Staël: Etude de Paysage (Landscape Study)
 * Harold Cohen: Before the Event
 * Patrick Heron: Azalea Garden