Jackson Pollock Bird c. 1938-41

  • Not on view

This bird, with its profiled head, oversized eye, and outspread wings, perches astride a golden orb, or nest. At its feet are disembodied headsperhaps vanquished foes. These various forms coalesce into an oddly phallic configuration. Pollock mixed sand with his paint, perhaps partly inspired by watching Navajo artists execute a sand painting at MoMA's 1941 exhibition Indian Art of the United States.

Gallery label from Jackson Pollock: A Collection Survey, 1934-1954, November 22, 2015–May 1, 2016.
Medium
Oil and sand on canvas
Dimensions
27 3/4 x 24 1/4" (70.5 x 61.6 cm)
Credit
Gift of Lee Krasner in memory of Jackson Pollock
Object number
423.1980
Copyright
© 2024 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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