Jackson Pollock’s “Blue Poles” is a monumental abstract expressionist painting created in 1952, during the peak of his career. Here is the backstory on this iconic work:
Pollock’s Drip Painting Technique
Pollock pioneered the drip painting technique, where he would lay his canvas on the floor and pour, drip, and fling paint onto it from above. This allowed him to approach the canvas from all angles and create energetic, spontaneous compositions.
At the time, few people had seen a painter paint like this. Most painters painted on an easel and very carefully using small movements. The media dubbed it “action painting.”
Art critic Harold Rosenberg coined the term “action painting” in 1952 to describe the work of artists who were doing something different during that time.
Rosenberg noticed a new trend in painting developing at the beginning of the 1950s. Artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning were no longer trying to paint their surroundings or depict an object.
They were experimenting. Moving outside the painters box. They applied sweeping brushstrokes and dripped paint onto their canvas in a direct, instinctual, and highly dynamic way.
These painters engaged much more of the body than traditional easel painting.
Often the viewer can see broad brushstrokes, drips, splashes, or other evidence of the physical action that took place upon the canvas.
Creation of Blue Poles
For “Blue Poles,” Pollock used commercial enamel paints in colors like blue, yellow, black, and white. He started by staining the large 8×20 foot canvas with paint while it was horizontal.
He then flicked and dripped additional layers of paint, creating a dense web of drips, splatters, and rhythmic lines.
The distinctive “blue poles” that give the painting its name were created by pouring streaks of blue paint down the canvas after it was re-oriented vertically. These vertical elements were a departure from Pollock’s typical all-over compositions.
Controversial Acquisition by Australia
In 1973, the painting was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for $1.3 million (equivalent to over $8 million today), which was a record price for an American painting at the time.
This acquisition sparked major controversy in Australia, with critics questioning the high cost and value of abstract art.
Despite the backlash, “Blue Poles” became an iconic work representing modern Australian art and culture. Its massive scale (7×11 feet) and dynamic energy capture the essence of Pollock’s revolutionary drip painting technique.
There are no known authorized copies of Jackson Pollock’s famous painting “Blue Poles” in existence.
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