Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Lee Krasner studied at the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design before attending the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts. She became a central figure in the New York art scene during the 1940s and 1950s, participating in the burgeoning Abstract Expressionist movement alongside contemporaries like Jackson Pollock.

Krasner’s practice was defined by her willingness to reinvent her visual language, often cutting up and reassembling her own earlier works to create new, collage-based compositions. Her medium primarily involved oil on canvas, though she frequently experimented with scale, texture, and the integration of calligraphic forms, reflecting a deep engagement with both European modernism and American abstraction.

Long overshadowed by her peers, Krasner has received significant critical re-evaluation in recent decades, with major retrospectives cementing her status as a foundational force in 20th-century art. Her legacy continues to influence contemporary discussions regarding the intersection of material application and intuitive gesture in abstract painting.