Soon after his first solo exhibition in New York in 1950, Franz Kline became recognized as a major figure in the emerging Abstract Expressionist movement. His mature style, developed through an interest in Japanese art, was typified in painting by bold gestural strokes of black and white paint on large convases. Kline produced numerous ink drawings at this time, often small and, like this one, on pages from the New York telephone directory. These were less preparatory drawings for paintings, an more excercises to develop spontaneity of gesture.