Jackson Pollock is an American artist and a great experimenter of the 20th century, an ideologue and a prominent representative of expressionism. Jackson Pollock developed his own direction – a radical abstract style, introduced new techniques for describing space and proved that a true artist cannot be limited to the narrow confines of traditional painting.

Childhood Jackson Pollock

The childhood of Jackson Pollock, who was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, can hardly be called happy. The fifth, the youngest, son grew up in constant fear of an eternally drunk father. There was not enough money for living, so the mother went to work in different states and took her children with her. Then their father left them, and the family moved to California.

Jackson Pollock was not popular among peers and teachers, he grew up a quiet and withdrawn boy who often had outbursts of anger and anger. At the same time, he was drawn to the beautiful – Jackson was interested in the culture and art of the Indian tribes living in the villages near the city of Chico. At the age of 15, he was already working as a laborer in the Grand Canyon, where he learned to drink. By the age of twenty, he turned into a full-fledged alcoholic, passionate about philosophy, psychoanalysis and cinema.

In 1928, thanks to his mother, who collected money for his studies, Jackson Pollock entered the High School of Art. Fellow students mocked the young man and claimed that he could not draw, he should quit his studies and go to the plumbers. Instead, Jackson took private drawing lessons from Thomas Benton. He found in the artist not only a teacher, but also a drinking buddy – together they went into long bouts.

Carier start

The young man traveled a lot, took on any job and received benefits for needy artists. In 1934, he finally decided to settle down and could not find a better place than New York. In 1944 he got married. He settled with his wife Lee Krasner in a two-story cottage in Springs, and set up a workshop in a small barn. In 1947, he invented a new painting technique: he spread huge canvases on the floor and sprinkled paint on them without touching the surface of the canvas with a brush. “The pouring technique,” as Pollock called his invention. Over time, this technique was called dripping or drip painting. And Jackson had a nickname – Jack the Dripper.

The novelty and naturalness of the paintings created by Pollock attracted the attention of critics. In 1948, he organized an exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery, which was quite successful. With the proceeds, the master set up a large workshop for himself and created a series of 6 paintings. A year later, Jackson Pollock was named “America’s Greatest Artist” by Life Magazine. His work has become in demand among contemporary art collectors. At the same time, Jackson began to drink even more often and more, began to cheat on his wife and bought a new Ford car. It was on it that Jackson Pollock crashed on August 11, 1956, crashing into a tree. He was drunk and only 44 years old.