The painters of the abstract expressionism were also much influenced by existencialism. Existencialism «shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individua While the predominant value of existentialist thought is commonly acknowledged to be freedom, its primary virtue is authenticity. In the view of the existentialist, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world»

In the context of WWII and all the destruction, a pessimistic and critical view of the existence was understandable as was the concept of the «absurd»

 

Kierkegaard, the danish philosopher of the 19th century, « proposed that each individual—not society or religion—is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely, or "authentically». 

​

Sartre posits the idea that "what all existentialists have in common is the fundamental doctrine that existence precedes essence". (...) He described existentialism as "the attempt to draw a15ll the consequences from a position of consistent atheism."(...) which means that the most important consideration for individuals is that they are individuals—independently acting and responsible, conscious beings ("existence")—rather than what labels, roles, stereotypes, definitions, or other preconceived categories the individuals fit ("essence"). The actual life of the individuals is what constitutes what could be called their "true essence" instead of there being an arbitrarily attributed essence others use to define them. Thus, human beings, through their own consciousness, create their own values and determine a meaning to their life.»

​

«The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning in the world beyond what meaning we give it. This meaninglessness also encompasses the amorality or "unfairness" of the world.» (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism)

​

The strong values of individuality and freedom of existencialism were embraced by abstract expressionists. They shared also a common preference for jazz music.

​

Sartre's first novel «Nausea» (1938),  takes place in 'Bouville' (literally, 'Mud town') a town similar to Le Havre, and it concerns a dejected historian, who becomes convinced that inanimate objects and situations encroach on his ability to define himself, on his intellectual and spiritual freedom, evoking in the protagonist a sense of nausea. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausea_(novel)) The protagonist finds healing in american jazz.