Jackson Pollock

This program presents a biography plus images of Pollock's greatest works. Born in Wyoming in 1912, Jackson Pollock became one of the most notorious artists that America ever produced. He developed a technique in which he would fix his canvas to the floor, drip and splash paint onto it, then use a variety of objects to manipulate the paint. With these innovative paintings, he became the front-runner of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Though subjected to much abuse and sarcasm as the leader of this fledgling movement, Pollock was supported by progressive critics. By the 1960s, however, he was widely recognized as the central figure in what had become the most important movement of 20th-century American painting.