Abstract expressionism-the non-representational use of paint as a means of personal expression-emerged in America in the 1940 s, inspired by the innovative work of Arshile Gorky. Considered the first art movement originating in the Americas to have a worldwide influence, abstract expressionism spawned two very different sub-categories: action painting (exemplified by Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock) and color field painting, made most famous by Mark Rothko. Abstract expressionists strove to express emotions and ideas directly on canvas via color, form and texture-the quality of brushstrokes and other marks, the dripping of paint, for example-while embracing accident and chance, and celebrating the very act of painting.