"De Kooning is probably the most libidinal painter America has ever had." So says art critic Robert Hughes, and when we look at de Kooning's paintings, the way he immersed himself in the female form in his famous "Women" series from the 50s, and the way the body -- admittedly in pieces, but the sensu

Abstract expressionism, Biomorphic, Dense, Improvised, Kaleidoscopic, Kinetic, Manic, Violent, Whimsical

Henri Matisse made it look easy, but don't be fooled -- those vibrant, lyrical scenes and simple, geometric portraits which look tossed off the tip of his paintbrush actually took weeks, sometimes months to create. A perfectionist, he once mused, "Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the bran

Bright, Decorative, Domestic, Fauvism, Joyful, Lyrical, Opulent, Pop, Serene

Although she is one of the twentieth-century artists who made Modernism unmistakably American, Georgia O'Keeffe channeled the European influences of Rodin, Matisse, and Picasso into an extremely personal vision of landscape. Encouraged by Arthur Wesley Dow's fusion of Japanese art, Art Nouveau's app

American modern, American regional painting, Biomorphic, Demure, Elegant, Erotic, Ethereal, Expansive, Feminine, Minimal

Although Ligon is famous for his text-oriented explorations of African American history, much of his recent art is like a tabloid TV show, exposing a secret world of interracial gay sex. Ligon's work, which spans several mediums, calls out the difficulties of growing up black and gay in middle-class

Composed, Deconstructive, Homoerotic, Modern sculpture, Political, Rebel