Lee Krasner: Living Colour, Barbican Art Gallery

This month, Lee Krasner's (1908-1984) first Europe retrospective for 50 years is coming to the Barbican Art Gallery. Krasner was one of the pioneers of abstract expressionism and a formidable artistic force. This exhibition will bring together nearly 100 of her works, ranging from her early self-portraits and designs for department store window displays, to her collages and large-scale abstract paintings.

Krasner was a woman working in a man's world. At the time she attended high school, hers (Washington Irving High School) was the only one to offer art courses for girls. When she married Jackson Pollock in 1945, she was already an established artist in her own right, but her career would be eclipsed by her husband's. When Pollock died in a car crash in 1956, Krasner claimed his studio, a converted barn outside their home in Long Island, as her own, moving from the cramped rooms in their house.

Palingenesis, 1971, Collection Pollock-Krasner Foundation. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, courtesy Kasmin Gallery, New York.

After Pollock's death, Krasner painted some of her most celebrated works, on large un-stretched canvases. These included her Umber and Primary series, paintings that explore scale, colour and natural forms.

The road to a European retrospective has been a long one for Krasner: throughout her career, she battled sexism in the industry and the overwhelming reputation of her husband. She is, as Samuel Sachs II, president of the Pollack-Krasner Foundation, says ‘an inspiring example of what can be achieved with both vision and tenacity’. The exhibition looks like it will be well worth the wait.