Krasner, Lee (1908-1984) American painter, one of the so-called first generation of New York School artists, the group who in the 1950s started the movement known as abstract expressionism. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Krasner received a traditional artistic education at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and at the National Academy of Design, both in New York City. She also spent several years studying with German-American artist Hans Hofmann, who tutored her in the techniques of avant-garde European masters such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Piet Mondrian.

In 1945 Krasner married American painter Jackson Pollock, and the couple moved from Manhattan to East Hampton, Long Island, New York. Virtually simultaneously, Pollock and Krasner both began to paint in an abstract style, using so-called all-over compositions—that is, nontraditional compositions in which there is no recognizable top, bottom, or center and often featuring a repetitive motif. While Pollock invented his now famous technique of drips and splatters, Krasner employed a more controlled, brushed method.

Krasner's Little Image series, painted between 1946 and 1949, featured repeating patterns of brush strokes and grids of hieroglyphic symbols. After Pollock's death in 1956, Krasner enlarged the scale of her works and began to develop a mature painting technique of great coloristic and compositional originality. In Gaea (1966, Museum of Modern Art, New York City), Krasner's sweeping gestural brushwork in black, white, and shades of pink creates an image evoking the prehistoric life force of Gaea, the Mother Earth of Greek mythology.

In 1983, one year before her death, Krasner was given a major retrospective exhibition at New York City's Museum of Modern Art. At that point, her artistic talent began to receive more attention, permitting her reputation as an artist to emerge from her identity as Mrs. Jackson Pollock.