Female Abstract Painters

Elaine de Kooning, an accomplished landscape and portrait artist, remained active in Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Expressionist movements during post-Second World War era. Elaine admired artwork of Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning, her future husband, and honed her skills under his tutelage. Figure served as subject of representational portraiture for Elaine, who was perhaps best-known for her portraits.

Born to journalist parents, who were both part of the Cuban intellectual sphere, Carmen Herrera received elite art education in Paris. The political unrest in Cuba forced her to leave her architecture studies incomplete and move to the U.S. She later established herself as a master painter of abstract art.

While she initially focused on Abstract Expressionism, American painter Jane Freilicher later switched her focus to still lifes, especially of flowers. Known as a pioneer of painterly realism, she is known for her iconic works such as Bouquets. She was part of the New York School and the Representational movement.

Initially a stenographer, American painter I. Rice Pereira later established herself as a prominent name in abstract painting. A major pillar of the Bauhaus movement, she was well-acquainted with many painters and authors and even wrote extensively on topics such as space and time.