
Jackson PollockAmerican, 1912–1956May one see it?
New York, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
1943
Paints “Mural” for Guggenheim's townhouse
At the suggestion of Guggenheim's friend and adviser Marcel Duchamp, Pollock painted “Mural” (8 by 20 feet) on canvas rather than on the wall, so that it would be portable. The critic Clement Greenberg, on seeing it, wrote that he knew at once Pollock was the greatest painter the country had produced.
1943
The Museum of Modern Art buys “She-Wolf”
In 1943 the Museum of Modern Art in New York bought his work “She-Wolf”; the first publications about Pollock appeared at the same time.
July 1943
Signs a contract with Peggy Guggenheim
In July 1943 Pollock signed a gallery contract with Peggy Guggenheim and received a commission for a huge mural for the entrance of her new townhouse.
1947
The start of “drip painting”
In 1947 Pollock began working on huge canvases laid out on the floor, splashing paint from brushes without touching the surface. He himself preferred the term “pouring technique”.
11 August 1956
Dies in a car crash
On 11 August 1956 at 10:15 p.m. Pollock, driving his Oldsmobile convertible under the influence of alcohol, died in a single-car crash less than a mile from his home. Passenger Edith Metzger was also killed and Ruth Kligman survived; Lee Krasner was visiting friends in Europe and returned abruptly.
11 August 1956
Died