Abstract expressionism is an American art movement that emerged after World War 2. It achieved worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the Western art world, taking over the previous role of Paris. The term "abstract expressionism" was introduced in 1929. by an American museology and art historian Alfred H. Barr Jr., in relation to works by Wassily Kandinsky. The movement flourished in the 1940s in New York when a new generation of American artists began to surface and dominate the world stage, they were the abstract expressionists. Their works are known for violent brushstrokes, distorted forms and emphasized strong colors. Abstract expressionism includes two broad groups. It includes the so-called "action painters", and more passive „color field“ painters. The main representatives of the two styles are: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Philip Guston, Hans Hoffmann, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, ....Jackson Pollock was the most important abstract expressionist, from a group of American artists who have achieved success in the late 1940s. He worked in a spontaneous improvisational way , recognizably dancing around the canvas pouring , dropping or dripping paint on it, thus the nickname Jack the Dripper. He had a tough childhood. In 1928 he enrolled Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, from which he kicked out. After that he entered in the Arts Students League, where he applied for mural lessons with Thomas Hart Benton. While Jackson was creating the name and reputation for himself, the United States were at war. The closest thing he did to help the war cause was being employed in the FAP (Federal Art Project). Although he was a successful painter, his problems with alcohol constantly followed him through life that ended tragically on August 11, 1956.