Jackson Pollock - East Hampton, NY - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

“Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.”
- Jackson Pollock

A Jackson Pollock painting titled ‘Number 17A,’ recently sold for a reported $140 million US. It is currently, as off this writing, the fifth most expensive painting to have recently changed hands. I’m not sure what that means, but most major art museums that display modern works of art, have an example of one of Jackson Pollocks ‘drip’ paintings. I’ve included a picture of ‘Convergence,’ a 1952 Pollock painting that I saw at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

Paul Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, WY, but grew up in Arizona and southern California. After some trouble in school - twice expelled - he moved with his brother to New York City to study art. During the late 1930s and early 40s, he worked for the WPA Federal Art Project. His first big commission was a mural for socialite and art collector, Peggy Guggenheim.

Opinion of Jackson Pollock’s work has been all over the place. Art critic Clement Greenberg thought his work to be the best painting of its day. ‘Life’ magazine asked, "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" But on the other hand, his work has been described as “not art—[but] a joke in bad taste.” ‘Time’ magazine called him ‘Jack the Dripper.’

For most of his adult life, Jackson Pollock struggled with alcoholism. It was a battle he eventually lost. In 1956, Pollock was driving drunk near his home on Long Island with two women half his age in the car. At high speed he ran his car off the road and into the woods. Pollock and one of his passengers died in the crash. He was laid to rest in Green River Cemetery in East Hampton.
(Source: wikipedia.org)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 01/28/1912 Date of death: 08/11/1956 Area of notoriety: Art Marker Type: Other Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: none Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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