Paul Jackson Pollock was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, he was widely noticed for his "drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over painting and action painting, because Pollock covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided critics: some praised the immediacy of the creation, while others derided the random effects.
Paintings by Jackson Pollock
No. 5, 1948 (1948)
No. 5, 1948 is a 1948 painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. It was sold on 22 May 2006 for $140 million, a new mark for highest ever price for a painting, not surpassed until April 2011.
The painting was created on fibreboard, also known as composition board, measuring 8’ x 4’. For the paint, Pollock chose to use liquid paints. More specifically, they were synthetic resin paints (gloss enamel) but are referred to as oil paints for classification of the work. On inspection it was grey, brown, white and yellow paint drizzled in a way that many people still perceive as a "dense bird’s nest". Initial reactions to the work were underwhelming:"You spent money on 'that'?"
Blue Poles (1952)
Blue Poles, also known as Number 11, 1952, is an abstract expressionist painting by the American artist Jackson Pollock. It was purchased amid controversy by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973 and today remains one of the gallery's major paintings.
At the time of the painting's creation, Pollock preferred not to assign names to his works, but rather numbers; hence, the original title of the painting was simply Number 11 or No. 11 for the year 1952. In 1954, the new title Blue Poles was first seen at an exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery; it reportedly originated from Pollock himself.
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (1950)
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) is a 1950 abstract expressionist painting by American artist Jackson Pollock in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The work is a distinguished example of Pollock's 1947-50 poured-painting style, and is often considered one of his most notable works.
Autumn Rhythm was made in July and August of 1950 at Pollock's studio in Springs, New York, as part of a group of paintings he first exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in November–December, 1950. Pollock's technique in the painting, like others made during this part of his career, involved working on unprimed canvas laid on the floor of his studio, pouring paint from cans or using sticks, heavily loaded brushes and other implements to control a stream of paint as he dripped and flung it onto the canvas. At 17 feet wide and 8 feet high, Autumn Rhythm is among Pollock's largest pictures. It belongs to a trio of "monumental canvases" Pollock painted in the summer of 1950, along with Number 32, 1950 and One: Number 31, 1950.
One: Number 31, 1950 (1950)
One: Number 31, 1950 is a painting by American painter Jackson Pollock, from 1950. It is one of the largest and most prominent examples of the artist's Abstract Expressionist drip-style works. The work was owned by a private collector until 1968 when it was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, where it has been displayed since then.
One: Number 31, 1950 is one of three larger-scale drip-style paintings, the other two being Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) and Number 32, 1950, that Pollock created in 1950 at his iconic barn studio in East Hampton, New York. In the summer of 1950, as One: Number 31, 1950 was being made, photographer Hans Namuth was invited to take photos documenting Pollock's studio and work. Upon arrival, Namuth was initially disappointed because Pollock stated the large oil and enamel paint-topped canvas was finished; however, this sense of dissatisfaction was short lived as Pollock spontaneously took his paintbrush and began slinging black, white, and brown paint onto the canvas in what Namuth recalled “a dancelike fashion.”
Number 17A (1948)
Number 17A is an abstract expressionist painting by American painter Jackson Pollock, from 1948.
The painting is oil paint on fiberboard and is a drip painting, created by splashing paint onto a horizontal surface. It was painted a year after Jackson Pollock introduced his drip technique. The piece was featured in the August 1949 edition of Life that made Jackson Pollock a celebrity.
Convergence (Pollock) (1952)
Convergence is an oil painting by Jackson Pollock, from 1952. It is held at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, in Buffalo.
The composition was created on canvas, measuring 93.5 inches by 155 inches. It is an oil painting in a wide range of colors, lines and shapes, made by the method of dripping and pouring paint onto a canvas.
Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1949)
Lavender Mist is a painting by Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock. It is a classic example of his poured (or “drip”) style of painting. Painted in the summer of 1950, it was first exhibited later that year at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. As art historian Gail Levin writes, “Running from 28 November through 16 December 1950, the exhibition included thirty-two works, several of them now considered Pollock's best: Autumn Rhythm, Lavender Mist, and One.” Lavender Mist has been in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., since 1976.
Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming, in 1912, though he lived there for less than a year as an infant. His family knocked around between Phoenix and Northern California before settling in Southern California, where Pollock went to high school (he did not graduate). In the fall of 1930, he moved to New York City, following the path of his oldest brother, Charles, and enrolling at the Art Students League, where he would take classes under American social realist painter Thomas Hart Benton.
Mural on Indian Red Ground (1950)
Mural on Indian Red Ground is a 1950 abstract expressionist drip painting by American artist Jackson Pollock, currently in the collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. It is valued at about $250 million and is considered one of Pollock's greatest works.
The collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art was bought during Iran's 1970s oil boom under the supervision of queen Farah Pahlavi. The museum was established in 1977 but the collection was displayed for only a short period. After the 1979 revolution, the paintings were stored in the basement of the museum and carefully looked after for about 30 years. In a 2005 exhibition Mural on Indian Red Ground and many other paintings were displayed for the first time after the revolution.