Jackson Pollock: A Guide to Jackson Pollock’s Life and Art

Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) was a twentieth-century American painter associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. Jackson Pollock’s unique painting style revolutionized the art world during the 1940s and 1950s. Jackson Pollock received widespread recognition for his abstract artworks created by free-flowing gestures—a style later dubbed “action painting.”

Jackson Pollock lived a successful and tumultuous life dedicated to his art.

• Early years: Paul Jackson Pollock was born in 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, to Stella May McClure and LeRoy Pollock. His parents moved their family often throughout the Southwest, briefly landing in places like California and Arizona. In 1928, Jackson Pollock enrolled in the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, where he learned about European modernism.
• Education: After being expelled from the Manual Arts High School, Jackson Pollock followed his older brother to New York City in 1930. He studied at the Art Students League with regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. Pollock explored Native American art, the works from Spanish surrealist artists like Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, as well as Mexican muralists like José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
• First works: In 1938, Jackson Pollock caught a break working for the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Federal Art Project. While working in New York, Jackson Pollock met a number of other American artists involved in Abstract Expressionism, including Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Willem de Kooning. In 1943, Peggy Guggenheim saw some of Jackson Pollock’s paintings and commissioned him to create pieces for her Art of This Century gallery. Later that year, Pollock formed an important friendship with art critic Clement Greenberg.
• Later works: In 1945, Jackson Pollock married fellow abstract painter Lee Krasner. Tired of distractions from the city, they moved together to a remote house in Springs, New York, near East Hampton on Long Island. Jackson Pollock converted an old barn into his art studio and began working on new paintings. He developed his distinct style of gestural abstract art during this period, creating artworks often referred to as “drip paintings.” In 1949, Time magazine featured Jackson Pollock and his work. A couple of years later, filmmaker Kim Evans made a short documentary about Jackson Pollock’s unique approach that featured an experimental score from composer Morton Feldman.
• Death and legacy: After the Time magazine feature and the film, Jackson Pollock struggled with his new fame. He drank heavily during this period and ultimately died in a drunken car accident in 1956. In the years following his death, Pollock’s work was featured worldwide at places like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Tate Gallery in London.

Jackson Pollock’s paintings feature abstract images and psychological themes.

1. 1. Non-traditional painting techniques: During his later years, Jackson Pollock rejected the upright easel in favor of a canvas on the floor. This unorthodox method allowed Pollock to approach his unstretched canvases from all directions. Pollock used tools like sticks and turkey basters to drip, pour, and spread liquid paint across a canvas.
2. 2. Abstraction: Largely influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, Jackson Pollock created abstract art that rarely featured recognizable subject matter. Pollock used gestures and colors to create purely abstract images.
3. 3. Psychological themes: From 1938 to 1941, Pollock underwent Jungian psychotherapy in an attempt to overcome his addiction to alcohol. In his art, Pollock used a free-flowing method that allowed him to tap into his own subconscious. Although there is no clear subject matter, many of Pollock’s works were influenced by his knowledge of Jungian symbolism.

Explore some of Jackson Pollock’s most distinct and influential artworks.

1. 1. Blue Poles (1952): Also known as Number 11, 1952, this artwork is one of Jackson Pollock’s most iconic and expensive pieces. The National Gallery of Australia bought the painting in 1973, where it remains today.
2. 2. Number 1, 1950 (1950): Commonly known as Lavender Mist, this painting captures the iconic drip style that Pollock developed in the late 1940s.
3. 3. Untitled (1950): In the early 1950s, Jackson Pollock painted several black and white canvases. Untitled is a clear example of the style of work Pollock created during this time, which later became known as his “black pourings” period. Although these paintings grew in popularity over the decades, they were financially unsuccessful during Jackson Pollock’s life.
4. 4. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (1950): One of Jackson Pollock’s largest and most iconic drip paintings, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) was first exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery and now hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
5. 5. The She-Wolf (1943): This early artwork features more distinct lines and shapes than Pollock’s later abstract style. Jackson Pollock used oil paint to create a surreal depiction of a mythological figure.

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