Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was the most significant influence of the Abstract Expressionists and helped to shape America's role in the rise of this critical modern art movement

Pollock's approach was controversial and revolutionary, making us think about art in ways we never did before. The extreme abstraction of his work challenged preceding artistic beliefs and inspired new generations of artists. Previous generations of artists had been brought up on the classic European artists of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, but Pollock was instead influenced from an early age by alternative art forms, such as local Native American art and also famous Mexican murals from the likes of Diego Rivera. Pollock also took in the work of Pablo Picasso at a MoMA exhibition in 1939. It was clear by now that this was an artist who was inspired by the latest modern art and would forge his own path along similar lines rather than simply duplicating the techniques of the more classic artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Bouguereau or Turner.

With WWII occupying international attention during the 1940s, it was New York in the US that had the opportunity to focus on art and its artists were able to make groundbreaking progress that remain significant today. The drip paintings of Pollock were one notable contribution to this, his way of expressing his emotions without formulaic art that he felt had dominated the art world up that point. He was not alone, several other key figures in 20th century had, or would later, forge their own paths, with the likes of Miro and Kandinsky famously declaring war on traditional art. The principle of pouring emotion into an artist's work can be found with Surrealists like Salvador Dali, as well as impressionists like Edgar Degas and Claude Monet. Whilst originating from similar principles, the resultant paintings of Pollock were of course very different in appearance.

The artist was now starting to achieve public acceptance and whilst this helped to open doors for his career, fame was not something that he especially sought or enjoyed. Sometimes it would set him off stubbornly in a new direction, as if to shake off as mainstream labelling of his work. Coverage of the drip paintings also aided the development of other abstract artists, with Pollock now seen as a spearhead for many. Artists such as Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko all owed a diet of gratitude to Pollock for their own success. For a while Jackson Pollock would be trying to strike a balance between becoming ever bolder to satisfy his creative needs, whilst being careful not to cut off the hand that feeds him in the form of sales through gallery exhibitions of his work. Whilst challenging the American and international art world, the artist would also have to fight against his own demons, in the form of alcoholism. The new Abstract Expressionists had proven that Americans could genuinely compete with Europeans for influence and media exposure in the battle to form new art movements and, crucially, gain public and academic acceptance for them.

Pollock prints cover the abstract expressionist career of American painter Jackson Pollock.

Pollockprints.org is a fansite offering information on the life and paintings of Jackson Pollock as well as providing links to where you can buy your own art print reproductions of original Pollock paintings. This homepage includes a full list of his finest paintings each of which are accompanied by links to our recommended Jackson Pollock art prints gallery, which includes framed and unframed art prints, stretched canvases and posters.

Convergence

Convergence is the most popular Jackson Pollock print and makes a colourful work that is ideal for any home, thanks to it's truly abstract expressionist style. It's complicated use of colour and brushstrokes is ideally suited to those with minimalist contemporary homes, and this is why so many choose to buy Jackson Pollock Convergence print reproductions for their own homes. Jackson Pollock's technique for Convergence was to move around a large canvas which he would lay in the middle of his studio floor. As he circled it Pollock would apply paint in a seemingly random fashion, combining drip, pour and splash techniques together to give an overall finish which was busy and full of colour.

Convergence is undoubtably the artist's finest painting that used this technique, which has become classified within the abstract expressionist art movement which serves as an umbrella to many different artistic techniques for expressing one's emotion through art. For those interested, there is more information on Jackson Pollock's Convergence painting here. Paul Jackson Pollock, as was his full name, struggled throughout his life with social problems which fueled his alcohol addiction which later contributed to his premature death at the age of 44 through a car accident in New York. It was a sad demise for such an innovative artist particularly when you consider that his best work was probably still to come as he grew with experience and influences.

One can only guess at what this artist may have achieved in later years but it is just satisfying that his reputation is still impressive from the work that he fitted in to his 44 years. There are additional Pollock paintings featured here. Convergence is the best place to start for those looking to learn about Pollock's style and features the most vibrant colours and complex strokes and drips of any that he produced. The popularity of this painting is shown in it's inclusion as the album cover for a major British rock band in the 1990s and it will remain Pollock's signature work for many years to come.

Action painting is an art movement generally seen as being named after the findings of Pollock who used so many innovative ideas in his own career. His methods were extraordinary when compared to the norms of traditional techniques such as Renaissance and Baroque of the 15th to 17th centuries. By standing up and walking around his enormous canvases the artist was able to open up new ideas to budding contemporary painters who now realised they did not have to be constrained in their methods and ideas.

No 14 Gray

No 14 Gray as you can see above is a relatively simple composition by Jackson Pollock in that it was just in black and white and this helps draw attention specifically to the complex spirals of the paint rather than the contrasting colours as in Convergence. No14 Gray serves as a good alternative for those looking for prints with more subtle tones to suit a specific place in their home or office. Jackson Pollock paintings have inspired many new contemporary artists, and his original works are now on show in the permanent collections of key art galleries and museums such as the National Gallery of Australia, Albright-Knox Art Gallery & Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Most Pollock paintings still remain in the United States as there are many well-financed institutions more than capable of holding on to, or acquiring Pollock paintings.

Yellow Grey Black

Yellow Grey Black features clear colour selections by Jackson Pollock as well as straighter brushstrokes with thick lines cutting across over a complex background. Each and every Pollock print suit a slightly different taste in terms of colour, with this relatively subtle but with a bold yellow added to create a sense of excitement. Pollock felt that his style of work was from a technique where he would connect deeply into his subconscious in order to gain inspiration for each and every painting. He was simply not someone who could sit down and paint an exact replication of something he chose to copy. Instead, he was all about expression, perhaps to try to excise some of the demons that lay within his troubled mind which contributed to his alcoholism.

Number 18

Number 18 features smaller drips of paint with a greater use dripping over thick brushstrokes, making this painting full of detail and perhaps more calming than some of his other paintings. It works well as a backdrop to a low-tone wall in most homes whereas those looking for a more aggressive look should try Convergence instead. When studying the different prints available within this homepage of Pollockprints.org it is important to understand that they are not ordered by age. To summarise, Pollock's earliest paintings concentrated on the complexity of drips and brushstrokes with only black and white coloured paint used. Examples of this were Number Twenty-Three, Echo and Number Seven. A post-1950 Pollock then created Convergence and Blue Poles, amongst many others, in his large-scale, full color style which he is now best remembered for.

Lucifer

Lucifer is another of Pollock's best known oil paintings and features an incredible amount of detail, even by this artist's standards. The painter uses blue and yellow prominently as well green over the top at the end. The print above features a title included below the main painting with green text chosen to match the work well. This type of finish to the print gives a really professional look and it makes a great choice. The early days of Jackson Pollock's career involved him first experimenting with pouring and then dripping techniques before starting to use them together later on. Pollock was well known also for his marriage to Lee Krasner who was also an American painter of note. It was the Guggenheim family who encouraged both to pursue their artistic ambitions, with financial aid provided to a Pollock who sought a studio in New York to develop his work and ideas.

Mural

Mural featured above is a very important example of how Jackson Pollock was a more flexible artist than many realise, with this painting offering a much more planned style with a sort graffiti-style look by the end because of it's complexity and Pollock's own choice of bold colouring. The abstract expressionist style of Jackson Pollock was a mixture of the planned and the unplanned, the accurate and the random. He always had a strong idea in his mind for how the painting should look and his final approach was a combination of different influences and a careful development and composition of different techniques together. His influences included western artists Thomas Hart Benton and Pablo Picasso as well as Indian sandpainting, the Mexican muralists and Surrealist automatism.

Summertime Serigraph

Summertime Serigraph above is the best known Serigraph available from Pollock's career and it's wide dimensions are an excellent alternative for some homes whose walls require a custom shape to fit in correctly. Summertime Serigraph again has a graffiti-style look from a distance. The success Jackson Pollock achieved throughout his career has ensured that the entire length of his production is studied in detail and we summarise the best known paintings into the short list included below:

• Male and Female
• Stenographic Figure
• Mural
• Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle
• The She-Wolf
• Blue (Moby Dick)
• Troubled Queen
• Eyes in the Heat
• The Key
• The Tea Cup Collection
• Shimmering Substance, from The Sounds In The Grass
• Portrait of H.M.
• Full Fathom Five
• Cathedral
• Enchanted Forest
• Lucifer
• Painting
• Number 5
• Number 8
• Composition (White, Black, Blue and Red on White)
• Summertime: Number 9A
• Number 1
• Number 3
• Number 10
• Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)
• Mural on indian red ground, 1950
• Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950
• Number 29, 1950
• One: Number 31, 1950
• No. 32
• Number 7
• Black & White
• Convergence
• Blue Poles
• Portrait and a Dream
• Easter and the Totem
• Ocean Greyness
• The Deep