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Painter, 1912 to 1956

Jackson Pollock

Peggy Guggenheim gave Pollock his first exhibition and a contract that let him paint. Alchemy, of 1947, one of his earliest poured paintings, hung for thirty years in her house on the Grand Canal.

Born
1912, Cody, Wyoming
Died
1956, Springs, East Hampton, New York
Movement
Abstract Expressionism
In Venice
1 work in 1 museum

Where to see Jackson Pollock in Venice

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection1 work

  1. Alchemy

    1947

    One of his first poured paintings: paint, sand, pebbles and broken sticks laid on a canvas on the floor.

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 Venice?
At the Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Alchemy. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Jackson Pollock's most famous work in Venice?
Alchemy, of 1947, at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. One of his first poured paintings: paint, sand, pebbles and broken sticks laid on a canvas on the floor.
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.

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