Question

The Abstract Expressionist artist Lee Krasner spent most of her artistic career being known as the wife of another famous Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollack. Like the painter Frida Kahlo, Krasner lived in the shadow of her famous husband. A 1948 review of an art exhibit featuring both her work and Pollack’s work illuminates this association. "Lee Krasner seems to be plagiarizing from her husband’s style, though her geometric shapes show a little more dramatic flair” (Winston). This sentiment attributes, or credits, the main artistic execution of the painting to Pollack and suggests that Krasner’s artwork is a revision of his design. This notion is reiterated, or repeated, in a review of Krasner’s work in another gallery 10 years later. Krasner is described as painting "like Pollack, though in a fashion that is more formulaic than genius” (Allan). These reviews highlight the challenge that Krasner faced when trying to be viewed as an artist in her own right.

How should Kari revise her paragraph to make it more readable?

eliminate the second sentence comparing Krasner to Kahlo
reconsider whether she wants to refer to the cited sources
evaluate the effectiveness of including two different quotes
delete the definitions of the words attributes and reiterated

Answer 1

Make these changes for clarity and flow:

- Delete the Frida Kahlo comparison — it’s extraneous and distracts from the main point about Krasner’s reception.
- Remove the parenthetical definitions of "attributes" and "reiterated" — defining common words interrupts the paragraph.
- Keep the cited sources, but integrate them more smoothly: either quote one representative review and paraphrase the other, or combine both into a single paraphrase to avoid repetition.

Example revision:

"Lee Krasner spent most of her career being known primarily as the wife of fellow Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock. A 1948 review of a joint exhibit suggested that 'Lee Krasner seems to be plagiarizing from her husband’s style, though her geometric shapes show a little more dramatic flair' (Winston). A decade later another critic echoed this view, describing her work as 'like Pollack, though in a fashion that is more formulaic than genius' (Allan). These responses illustrate the persistent challenge Krasner faced in being recognized as an artist in her own right."

This keeps the evidence and citations while eliminating distractions and redundancy.