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I like to write, and read, a life story. Childhood, education, influences, love affairs, disappointments, a troubled marriage, triumphs and recognition: Gail Levin’s biography of painter Lee Krasner is a masterfully told story of a great American life.

Krasner (1908-1984) was born to Russian immigrants in then-rural Brooklyn. Her scholarly father sold fish from a cart to support the family. Brother Irving introduced her to literature. The young Lee (born Lena) embraced Jewish ritual but bristled at the separation of men and women at temple. A favorite childhood teacher was one who let boys and girls play together at recess. All her life, Krasner upended the status quo for women.

Krasner was educated in New York City public schools, eventually attending Washington Irving, a vocational high school for girls, and Cooper Union. A child of poverty, she always worked: as an illustrator, a fashion model, a WPA muralist.

Influenced by Mondrian, Matisse and husband Jackson Pollock, Krasner is one of the Abstract Expressionists who lived and worked in New York during the mid-20th century. Her canvases are dramatic — sometimes frightening — and often colorful. A photograph of Krasner in her studio looks as though she’s attacking the canvas. She also cut up old work and repurposed pieces as collage.

An early love affair with a fellow student was ended by his parents because of her modest birth. His departure left Krasner terribly alone in New York during World War II, when most men were called upon to serve. Her independence as a young woman was remarkable for that time.

Painter Jackson Pollock was in New York, barred from military service because of alcoholism and mental issues. He and Krasner met at a group show and married three years later. Krasner championed his work; she recognized his greatness early on.Theirs was a love between equals, but his alcoholism strained the marriage and their friendships.

After his death, Krasner’s work grew in scale and complexity.

Krasner, on the inevitability of her career: “‘I had to’ is the only way I can put it…Painting is not separate from life. It is one. It is like asking — do I want to live? My answer is yes — and I paint.”