Pollock Biography
POLLOCK’S EARLY LIFE
In 1912, Paul Jackson Pollock was born to Stella May McClure and Leroy Pollock in Cody, Wyoming. Pollock was the youngest of five sons and had a somewhat troubled childhood. Although he had a passion for art at an early age, Pollock was expelled from two different art focused high schools.
Later in his teenage years, Pollock began taking surveying trips with his father and entrenched himself in Native American culture. Shortly after, he followed his brother, Charles Pollock to New York City, where they both studied at the Art Students League of New York, under Thomas Hart Benton.
POLLOCK’S ALCOHOLISM
Throughout his life Pollock constantly battled depression and alcoholism. In 1938 he suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized for about four months. Pollock stayed under psychiatric care for the next few years. His work began showing Jungian symbolism and a strong Surrealist influence. These works include paintings such as, Bird (c. 1941), Male and Female (c. 1942), and Guardians of the Secret (1943).
Pollock gained attention in New York and was given a one-man show at the Art of This Century gallery by Peggy Guggenheim in 1943. Pollock developed his own unique style of painting by applying paint from all directions of the canvas using his entire body. Pollock created splatter and action pieces by pouring paint onto canvases. These famous paintings were created between 1947 and 1950 and became known as Pollock's "drip period". Pollock's defiant work helped mold the Abstract Expressionism movement and dazzled New York City with his unique techniques.
POLLOCK’S ART
Pollock met the American painter, Lee Krasner, in 1942 while they both exhibited at the McMillen Gallery. Pollock's career began taking off as Krasner introduced him to the cosmopolitan art world of New York. Pollock and Krasner, a respected artist in her own right, were married in October 1945. Krasner was a respected artist in her own right and became a stabilizing force in Pollock’s life. She began handling his affairs in New York and introduced him to many collectors, critics, and artists.
POLLOCK’S DOWNFALL
At the peak of his fame, Pollock abruptly abandoned the drip style. His art became darker as he shifted to painting in black and white. These dark paintings, referred to as his 'Black pourings', were exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, but were not well received by the art community. This deepened his depression as his alcoholism became out of control. He started having an affair with Ruth Kligman and by 1956 his marriage was in shambles. Krasner reluctantly left for Paris to give Pollock space.
POLLOCK’S DEATH
By this time, Pollock had quit painting altogether. On August 11, 1956, as he was driving drunk, Pollock crashed his car into a tree less than a mile from his home. Pollock was thrown 50 feet and died immediately.
Ruth Kligman, his girlfriend at the time, was thrown from the car but survived. Another passenger, Edith Metzger also died in the crash.