Abstract art is traditionally defined as being those pieces that do not represent objects in a realistic way, relying instead on colors and form.. The subject of the art piece can be somewhat based on a realistic object in so far as it is recognizable but there will be obvious stylistic devices used.

It could be argued that abstract art is the oldest movement on Earth, since cave drawings were abstracted versions of daily life. Constructivism brought the abstract theory from paintings to sculptures starting in 1915. The De Stijl architectural movement of two years later also gained inspiration from abstract art.

Famous American abstract artists include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning. Jackson Pollock became famous for his drip technique that utilized the newly created glossy enamel paints on the market. He used sticks, hard brushes, syringes and the paint cans themselves to drip paint across his canvases. He would often fling the paint from across the room to create a desired effect. He produced his most lasting works between 1947 and 1950. In 1949, Time Magazine featured the artist in a piece they called "Jack the Dripper" and supposed he may be the greatest painter alive in the United States at that time. Pollack soon after dropped his drip technique, evolving into more "traditional" abstract pieces. Pollock, a lifelong alcoholic, died in a drunken driving accident in 1956 when he was 44 years old.

Mark Rothko got his start in the mid-1920s New York in a collective of artists that included Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Joseph Solman and John Graham with Milton Avery serving as their epicenter. He compared abstract art to the works created by primitive man and small children. He drew influences from mythology and the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially the book The Birth of Tragedy. Rothko was quoted as saying: "I am not an abstract painter. I am not interested in the relationship between form and color. The only thing I care about is the expression of man's basic emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, destiny." He committed suicide at the age of 65 by overdose of antidepressants.

Franz Kline shared a similar action oriented style of painting as Jackson Pollack. His best received works were in black and white. His influences included Japanese calligraphy, railroads and other transportation architectural devices. He was a good friend of Willem De Kooning, who suggested to him the use of a projector which Kline immediately loved.

Willem De Kooning was also an "action" painter. He did a series of abstract figure-based images early in his career. In his later career he turned to the enamels that Pollack favored out of necessity since the traditional paints were too expensive for him to afford. He continued to use figures and entered the maturation of his career. The works he created late in life, during the 1980s, have never been put in an exhibit but are said to have shown great promise in predicting future artistic trends even though de Kooning himself was slipping into Alzheimer's disease.