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Why did Abstract Expressionist artists write criticism to explain and defend their own work?

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Painting by Gustave Courbet showing the artist at his easel in a crowded studio, surrounded by figures including a nude model, onlookers, and a child with a white dog. — Art criticism *The Painter's Studio*, oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet, 1854–55, in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Abstract Expressionist artists began writing criticism to explain and defend their work primarily because they felt frequently misunderstood by professional art critics. As their work gained prominence, it often faced skepticism or confusion from the media and the public, leading artists to take on the role of their own advocates to clarify their intentions and justify their artistic choices.1

A notable example occurred in 1943, when Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko published a statement in The New York Times to respond to a critic who had described their paintings as "obscure". They noted that the complaint of being misunderstood by critics had become a "noisy commonplace," necessitating that artists speak for themselves.1

By writing their own criticism, these artists sought to bridge the gap between their creative process—which emphasized personal expression, psychic improvisation, and the act of painting itself—and a public or critical establishment that often struggled to interpret their non-traditional, abstract forms. This practice reflected a broader environment where art criticism had become an indispensable, albeit controversial, part of the art scene.123