Mural by Jackson Pollock

Mural came about in 1943 during WW2 but focused on a truly American scene representing movement of animals.

The photograph to the left captures the frenetic activity of this artwork, with every animal of the American West included across the canvas.

Cows, horses, antelopes and buffaloes are strewn across the scene in a powerful expressionist work which came early in the career of Pollock and was an important step in starting to gain exposure and respect for this artist.

Mural reminds many of some of the work produced by artist Wassily Kandinsky, who was a similarly expressive and highly creative artist from many decades earlier. There were enough influential artists for Pollock and others to draw on as they started to make their own way in the art scene. You can learn more about the Mural painting in this article at the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Mural Gifted by Peggy Guggenheim to the University of Iowa Museum of Art

Peggy Guggenheim gifted this mural to the University in order further encourage it's interest in modern art, in which she was a major dealer herself. Guggenheim and Pollock shared a close relationship and she was a key component in his success thanks to her passion for abstract art and the contacts with which she could publicise his work.

Pollock himself was commissioned by Peggy to produce work for her new home, and this personal request underlines the trust which she held in this artist, even at a relatively early point in his career.

The Art.com print gallery features all major paintings from Pollock's career and these are ordered by popularity - you will note that Mural continues to be one of the most ordered reproduction from all that he produced.