Lee Krasner: A Life by Gail Levin

A workmanlike accumulation of facts

Lee Krasner: A Life, published in 2011, is a biography written by art historian Gail Levin. Krasner (1908-1984) was an American abstract painter and also the wife of painter Jackson Pollock. Both were part of the abstract expressionist movement in New York City, and they also started a satellite hub of artists on Long Island. While this book doesn’t shy away from her marriage to Pollock, its definite purpose is to focus on Krasner’s own artistic accomplishments. Levin was a longtime acquaintance of Krasner’s, and her high regard for her subject sometimes calls into question her objectivity, but she includes enough oral history from Krasner’s friends and colleagues—testimony both flattering and unflattering—to convince you this isn’t just an exercise in hero worship.

There’s a myth or a misconception that Pollock held back Krasner’s artistic career. Levin sets the record straight, at least as far as what Krasner had to say about the couple’s relationship. Pollock peaked about a decade earlier than Krasner, and his meteoric success allowed enough financial security for both of them to paint full time. Pollock’s alcoholism was certainly no help to Krasner, but Pollock supported her painting and vice versa. Krasner’s career was not held back by Pollock but rather by sexist American society and its chauvinist artists and critics. Pollock’s career was certainly aided by Krasner’s tireless boosterism of his art, and she also elevated his posthumous stature through her shrewd stewardship of his legacy.

Given that Levin has a curatorial background rather than a journalistic background, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that this book reads less like a biography and more like an exhibition catalogue or a master’s thesis. The main intention here is not to tell a story but to accumulate facts to support an argument. A typical sentence like “According to the 1930 federal census, Krasner apparently still lived at home at 594 Jerome Street with her parents,” is indicative of the research-paper style of the prose. Levin feels the need to summarize every letter Krasner ever sent or received, whether the contents are relevant to the lives of Krasner and Pollock or not. At one point, she unnecessarily quotes an advertisement for the brand of stereo system that Willem de Kooning owned. Levin’s constant reminding that she searched through a bunch of documents, and this is what she found, removes the reader from any emotional involvement in the narrative or any visceral or vicarious experience of Krasner and Pollock’s lives.

The best part of this book is its insight into how Krasner and other New York artists lived, worked, and survived during the Great Depression. This isn’t just another art history exposé that trumpets the hallowed names of abstract expressionism. Levin’s coverage of this era mixes the experiences of A-list, B-list, and C-list painters in Krasner’s circle, an approach that really provides an authentic and informative look into the New York art scene and the lives of its artists during this period. After Pollock dies, on the other hand, the book gets really boring. The last four chapters are mostly just a series of Krasner gallery exhibitions, with details about what paintings were shown and excerpts from critical reviews, both positive and negative. Like many an exhibition catalogue, it becomes a glorified curriculum vitae. Two points are beaten like a dead horse: 1) Krasner was not just Pollock’s wife but an important artist in her own right; and 2) Her career was held back by sexism in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, but finally in the 1970s she’s got the recognition she deserves. These points are repeated over and over and over again, ad nauseam, until the reader is ready to say enough, I get it, can we get to her deathbed already?

HIn general I prefer Krasner’s painting to Pollock’s, but only her later, mature work. She certainly deserves recognition as a pioneering abstract expressionist, as Levin asserts in this book. For those wanting to learn about Krasner’s art, this is not a lavishly illustrated art book. There are two photo inserts, one of people photos and one of Krasner’s art. About 32 artworks are depicted. As a biography, it puts more emphasis on biographical photographs that chronicle Krasner’s life.