Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter and a key figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement, celebrated for his distinctive style of drip painting.

Biography of Jackson Pollock

Paul Jackson Pollock was born in 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. Pollock initially studied under Thomas Hart Benton but later departed from traditional techniques to delve into Abstract Expressionism with his splatter and action pieces, where he poured paint and other materials directly onto canvases. He was both acclaimed and criticized for his unconventional methods. 

Pollock had his first solo exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's gallery, Art of This Century, in New York in 1943. His exploration of gestural painting, influenced in part by American Indian sand painting and Surrealism, reached its peak in 1947 with his innovative technique of dripping paint trails onto a canvas placed flat on the floor. This method is considered one of the origins of the term 'action painting.'

During his lifetime, Pollock achieved significant fame and recognition, emerging as a major artist of his generation. Despite being seen as reclusive, he had a volatile personality and battled alcoholism throughout his life. In 1945, he married artist Lee Krasner.

Jackson Pollock tragically passed away in 1956 at the age of 44, after crashing into a tree while driving drunk in New York. Several months after his death in December 1956, a memorial retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. In 1998 and 1999, Pollock's work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and The Tate in London, showcasing the enduring impact and relevance of his artistic contributions.

Jackson Pollock's Art Style

Jackson Pollock was introduced to the use of liquid paint in 1936 at an experimental workshop run by the Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in New York City. His early works depicted ritual violence or sexuality, characterized by turbulent movement and fragmentary archetypal imagery. This gradually evolved in the early 1940s into a completely abstract 'all-over' style, later recognized as Abstract Expressionism. He began using paint pouring as one of several techniques on canvases such as "Male and Female" and "Composition with Pouring I."

Upon moving to Springs, Pollock began painting with his canvases spread out on the studio floor. Here, he developed what would later be recognized as his "drip" technique, utilizing synthetic resin-based paints known as alkyd enamels. Pollock described this departure from traditional artist's paints to household paints as 'a natural growth out of a need.' His tools for application included hardened brushes, sticks, and even basting syringes.