Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904
– June 23, 1980) was one of the leading figures in the first generation of
Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in
the years immediately following World War II. Still has been credited with
laying the groundwork for the movement, as his shift from representational to
abstract painting occurred between 1938 and 1942, earlier than his colleagues
like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, who continued to paint in figurative-surrealist
styles well into the 1940s.
