In 1973 one of those paintings called No. 11 or Blue Poles was sold at auction and purchased by the Australian Government for AUD $1.3 million dollars or US $2 million.This was most money ever paid for a single painting of modern art.It hung in the old Parliament House in Canberra, but now hangs in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
In 1949, Pollock's show at the Betty Parsons Gallery sold out, and he suddenly became the best-paid avant-garde painter in America. But fame was not good for Pollock, who, as a result of it, became dismissive of other artists, even his former teacher and mentor, Thomas Hart Benton. Furthermore, acts of self-promotion made him feel like a phony, and he would sometimes give interviews in which his answers were scripted. When Hans Namuth, a documentary photographer, began producing a film of Pollock working, Pollock found it impossible to "perform" for the camera. Instead, he went back to drinking heavily.
Pollock's 1950 show at the Parsons gallery did not sell, though many of the paintings included, such as his "Number 4, 1950," are considered masterpieces today. It was during this time that Pollock began to consider symbolic titles misleading, and instead began using numbers and dates for each work he completed.
Designerham, 2012, Jackson Pollock - Blue Poles, Painting, Flickr
The person who posted this picture onto Flickr is not well known and it doesn’t state where they obtained the picture from, so I would therefore consider it to be of low authority.
The person who posted this picture onto Flickr is not well known and it doesn’t state where they obtained the picture from, so I would therefore consider it to be of low authority.
In 1949, Pollock's show at the Betty Parsons Gallery sold out, and he suddenly became the best-paid avant-garde painter in America. But fame was not good for Pollock, who, as a result of it, became dismissive of other artists, even his former teacher and mentor, Thomas Hart Benton. Furthermore, acts of self-promotion made him feel like a phony, and he would sometimes give interviews in which his answers were scripted. When Hans Namuth, a documentary photographer, began producing a film of Pollock working, Pollock found it impossible to "perform" for the camera. Instead, he went back to drinking heavily.
Pollock's 1950 show at the Parsons gallery did not sell, though many of the paintings included, such as his "Number 4, 1950," are considered masterpieces today. It was during this time that Pollock began to consider symbolic titles misleading, and instead began using numbers and dates for each work he completed.
Pollock said "...look passively and try to receive
what the painting has to offer and not bring a subject matter or preconceived idea
of what they are to be looking for."
Pollock's
wife, Lee Krasner, said Pollock "used
to give his pictures conventional titles... but now he simply numbers them.
Numbers are neutral. They make people look at a picture for what it is—pure
painting.”
Pollock's art also became darker
in colour. He abandoned the "drip" method, and began
painting in black and white, which proved unsuccessful. Depressed and haunted, Pollock would
frequently meet his friends at the nearby Cedar Bar, drinking until it closed and
getting into violent fights.
Concerned for Pollock's well-being, Krasner
called on Pollock's mother to help. Her presence helped to stabilize Pollock,
and he began to paint again. He completed his masterpiece, "The Deep" during this period.
Humann, H 2008, Jackson Pollock The Deep 1953, Painting, Flickr
The person who posted this picture onto Flickr is not well known and it doesn’t state where it obtained the picture from, so I would therefore consider it to be of low authority.
The person who posted this picture onto Flickr is not well known and it doesn’t state where it obtained the picture from, so I would therefore consider it to be of low authority.
But as the demand from collectors for Pollock's art grew, so too did the pressure he felt, and with it his alcoholism.
Finally, his drinking had increased to such an extent that eventually Pollock’s marriage fell apart, his health was failing and he had stopped painting.On the night of 11 August 1965 he had been drinking excessively and whilst one mile from his home, he hit a tree, was thrown from the vehicle and died.
He was aged 44 years.
In its edition of 8 August, 1949, Life magazine ran a feature article about Jackson Pollock that bore this question in the headline: "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?"Could a painter who flung paint at canvases with a stick, who poured and hurled it to create roiling vortexes of colour and line, possibly be considered "great"?
New York's critics certainly thought so, and Pollock's pre-eminence among the Abstract Expressionists has endured, cemented by the legend of his alcoholism and his early death.The famous “drip paintings” that he began to produce in the late 1940s represent one of the most original bodies of work of the century.
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