Painter, 1912 to 1956
Jackson Pollock
In a barn on Long Island, between 1947 and 1950, Jackson Pollock laid his canvases on the floor and dripped, poured and flung paint onto them from above. The results made New York the capital of modern art.
- Born
- 1912, Cody, Wyoming
- Died
- 1956, Springs, East Hampton, New York
- Movement
- Abstract Expressionism
- In New York
- 4 works in 3 museums
Where to see Jackson Pollock in New York
Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
The Museum of Modern Art2 works
One: Number 31, 1950
1950
A web of black, white, brown and blue-grey enamel more than five metres wide, with no beginning and no end. Stand close, then stand back.
The She-Wolf
1943
A heavy-outlined beast, after the wolf that suckled the founders of Rome, from before the drip paintings. The museum bought it out of his first exhibition.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art1 work
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
1950
Black, white and brown on raw canvas, the same size as its companion at MoMA and painted in the same weeks. A photographer filmed him at work on it.
Whitney Museum of American Art1 work
Number 27, 1950
1950
A smaller poured painting from the same year, in pink, yellow, white and silver.
The life of Jackson Pollock
Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912, grew up in the West and came to New York at eighteen. He drank, struggled and painted in the manner of others until the collector Peggy Guggenheim gave him a contract in 1943. Two years later he and his wife, the painter Lee Krasner, moved to a farmhouse at Springs, near East Hampton.
The poured paintings of the next few years were unlike anything seen before: no centre, no edge, no brush. Life magazine asked in 1949 whether he was the greatest living painter in the United States. By 1951 he had stopped, and in August 1956 he died when he crashed his car a mile from the house. His works are still under copyright and are not pictured here.
What to know
- Painted on the floor, pouring and dripping from above
- The Museum of Modern Art bought The She-Wolf in 1944, his first work in any museum
- Died in a car crash at forty-four
- Born
- 28 January 1912, Cody, Wyoming
- Died
- 11 August 1956, Springs, East Hampton, New York
Jackson Pollock: common questions
- Where can you see Jackson Pollock in New York?
- At the Museum of Modern Art: One: Number 31, 1950 and The She-Wolf. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). At the Whitney Museum of American Art: Number 27, 1950. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
- What is Jackson Pollock's most famous work in New York?
- One: Number 31, 1950, of 1950, at the Museum of Modern Art. A web of black, white, brown and blue-grey enamel more than five metres wide, with no beginning and no end. Stand close, then stand back.
- When and where was Jackson Pollock born?
- On 28 January 1912, at Cody, Wyoming. Jackson Pollock died on 11 August 1956, at Springs, East Hampton, New York, aged about 44.
- What is Jackson Pollock known for?
- Painted on the floor, pouring and dripping from above. The Museum of Modern Art bought The She-Wolf in 1944, his first work in any museum. Died in a car crash at forty-four. Jackson Pollock was an American painter, of Abstract Expressionism.
Tickets and tours: Jackson Pollock in New York
Things to do near MoMA
The nearest of this site's best things to do in the city. Distances are in a straight line.
- 8See the skyline from Top of the Rock300 m awayMonument, 1 to 1.5 hours, ticket
- 9See a Broadway show750 m awayShow, 2.5 to 3.5 hours, square free, ticket for a show
- 12Go up SUMMIT One Vanderbilt from Grand Central1.0 km awayMonument, 2 to 2.5 hours, ticket, station free
- 18See the Frick's Vermeers in the house they were bought for1.4 km awayMuseum, 1.5 to 2 hours, ticket
Where to eat near MoMA
The nearest of the famous tables this site lists in New York. Distances are in a straight line.
- The Modern4.6Museum restaurant, Inside the Museum of Modern Art100 m away
- Le Bernardin4.6Grand restaurant, Midtown, near Rockefeller Center350 m away
- P.J. Clarke's4.5Saloon, Midtown East850 m away
- Sardi's4.3Theatre restaurant, Theater District950 m away
Hotels near MoMA
The five-star hotels closest to it, of those this site lists in New York. Distances are in a straight line.
- Baccarat Hotel New York4.6Five-star hotel, West 53rd Street, opposite MoMA50 m away
- The Peninsula New York4.5Five-star hotel, Fifth Avenue at 55th Street200 m away
- The Whitby Hotel4.6Five-star hotel, West 56th Street, off Fifth Avenue200 m away
- The St. Regis New York4.5Five-star hotel, Fifth Avenue at 55th Street250 m away
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The thirty-two Campbell's Soup Cans that began Pop art are at the Museum of Modern Art, with Gold Marilyn Monroe. The Whitney has his Coca-Cola bottles.
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Picture: LPLT, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Pablo Picasso
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the painting from which Cubism followed, is at the Museum of Modern Art. The Met has his portrait of Gertrude Stein, and the Guggenheim more than thirty works.
Cubism. 6 works in 3 museums
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