The 20th century bore witness to what could arguably be considered a mere fleeting movement of Abstract Expressionism. Nevertheless, key Action Painters of the time introduced the American art world to a reactionary encounter, whereby any traditional tenets of drawing were rejected in favour of systems of monolithic colour (Kozloff, M. 1967:105). This paper delves deeper into the life and influences of Franz Kline and how his work and artistic journey was largely shaped by his personal identity, as well as Kline’s relationship with contemporaries such as Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and Adolph Gottlieb and how their collective identity as Abstract Expressionists shaped both their individual and group identities.