23 Interesting Facts about Jackson Pollock

Dan April 17, 2023

Jackson Pollock was an American painter who played a pivotal role in the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912 and grew up in Arizona and California. Pollock studied art at the Art Students League in New York City and worked for the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.

Pollock is best known for his unique style of drip painting, which involved pouring and splattering paint onto large canvases laid out on the floor. He would move around the canvas, using sticks and brushes to create intricate, layered patterns of drips and splatters. Pollock’s technique was highly influential and has had a lasting impact on modern art.

Pollock’s life was marked by personal struggles, including alcoholism and mental health issues. He died in a car accident in 1956 at the age of 44. Despite his relatively short career, Pollock’s work continues to be highly regarded and is considered a seminal influence on modern art.

To know more about Jackson Pollock, let’s take a look at these 23 interesting facts about Jackson Pollock.

1. Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912, in Cody, Wyoming.
2. His father was a farmer and government land surveyor, and his mother was a homemaker.
3. Pollock had four brothers and grew up in Arizona and California.
4. He dropped out of high school at the age of 15 but eventually earned his high school diploma through correspondence courses.
5. Pollock studied art at the Art Students League in New York City from 1929 to 1931.
6. He worked for the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, creating murals for public buildings.
7. Pollock met fellow artist Lee Krasner in 1941, and they married in 1945.
8. Krasner played a significant role in promoting Pollock’s work and helping him overcome his alcoholism.
9. Pollock’s unique style of drip painting emerged in the early 1940s.
10. He would lay his canvases on the floor and drip, splatter, and pour paint onto them.
11. Pollock often used sticks, knives, and other tools to manipulate the paint.
12. He referred to his process as “energy and motion made visible.”
13. Pollock’s work was heavily influenced by surrealism, particularly the work of Joan Miró.
14. He was also influenced by the work of Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
15. Pollock was known for his large-scale canvases, some of which were over 20 feet long.
16. His work was controversial and polarizing, with some critics dismissing it as mere “doodles.”
17. Pollock was included in the 1943 exhibition “American Realists and Magic Realists” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
18. He was featured in Life magazine in 1949 in an article titled “Jackson Pollock: Is He the Greatest Living Painter in the United States?”
19. Pollock struggled with alcoholism throughout his life and was known to drink heavily while working.
20. He also suffered from depression and was briefly hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in the early 1940s.
21. Pollock died in a car accident on August 11, 1956, at the age of 44.
22. His work continues to be highly regarded and has been exhibited in major museums around the world.
23. In 2013, a painting attributed to Pollock sold for $58.4 million at auction, making it one of the most expensive works of art ever sold.

Jackson Pollock’s influence on modern art cannot be overstated. His unique style of drip painting revolutionized the art world and opened up new possibilities for creative expression. Despite his personal struggles with alcoholism and mental health, Pollock’s work continues to be highly regarded and is widely recognized as a seminal influence on modern art. His legacy is a testament to the power of artistic experimentation and the enduring impact of individual creativity. Pollock remains a symbol of artistic freedom and the limitless potential of human imagination.