The power of abstraction in art gathered momentum as the century progressed. Younger artists emerging during the inter-war years embraced it in their quest to make sense of their uncertain, war-threatened world. Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko among others found a freedom in abstract art that enabled them to make bold statements. They were highly individualistic in their approach to their art but all were united by a need to give voice to the strong emotions they were feeling. Theirs was the disturbing, unstable world of pre and post war America.
