THE COLLECTION
Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956)
Number 1A, 1948
- Date:
- 1948
- Medium:
- Oil and enamel paint on canvas
- Dimensions:
- 68" x 8' 8" (172.7 x 264.2 cm)
- Credit Line:
- Purchase
- MoMA Number:
- 77.1950
- Copyright:
- © 2013 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Abstract Expressionist New York
October 3, 2010–April 25, 2011
While the style of "drip" painting has become synonymous with the name Jackson Pollock, here the artist has autographed the work even more directly, with several handprints found at the composition's upper right. Around this time Pollock stopped giving his paintings evocative titles and began instead to number them. His wife, artist Lee Krasner, later explained, "Numbers are neutral. They make people look at a painting for what it is—pure painting." Collectors did not immediately appreciate Pollock's radical new style, and when first exhibited, in 1949 (then titled Number 1, 1948), this painting remained unsold. Later that year the work was shown again in the artist’s second solo exhibition (Pollock added "A" to the title to avoid confusion with more recent work) and shortly thereafter was purchased by MoMA.
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