Jackson Pollock, born January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, moved to New York in 1930 where he studied with (and babysat for) Thomas Hart Benton. From 1938 to 1942 Pollock worked for the WPA. In 1943 Peggy Guggenheim signed him, providing him with a monthly stipend. In 1945 he married fellow painter Lee Krasner and they moved to the little house in East Hampton. It was here, on the floor of the small barn studio, that he began his drip paintings. In 1947 Guggenheim handed Pollock off to Betty Parsons http://www.theartstory.org/gallery-betty-parsons.htm Parsons didn’t keep Pollock on a stipend. 1947 to 1950 was his most prolific period, the majority of his most important work came from these years. In 1949, the year of his first major sold out show with Parsons, LIFE magazine published the four page spread which asked “Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?” His fame was instant, producing jealousies and rivalries. After his celebrity, his work changed, his battle with alcoholism worsened, his decline was rapid. He had stopped painting by the time of his death in 1956 at the age of 44.
His influence on painting is legendary. Pollock’s influence on his contemporaries is fascinating, particularly on the work of Andrew Wyeth. Wyeth (five years younger than Pollock) was fiercely competitive. When LIFE asked the question, Wyeth answered loudly. Pollocks drip technique was employed and became Wyeth’s splatter technique. This splattering is seen clearly in the grasses and foregrounds of most of Wyeth’s paintings after the early 1950’s. By 1965 Wyeth had his own article in LIFE magazine, he was quoted as saying, “My God, when you really begin to peer into something, a simple object, and realize the profound meaning of that thing - if you have an emotion about it, there’s no end.”
(pictured, ‘One: Number 31 - 1950. my favorite Pollock, at MOMA)
