What was Jackson Pollock’s Net Worth?

Jackson Pollock was an American painter and abstract expressionist. He died in August 1956 with a net worth of $5 million.

Pollock is known for pioneering a unique style of drip painting, also known as the “drop technique.” He struggled with alcoholism throughout his lifetime and was considered a recluse. In 1945 he married artist Lee Krasner.

His work has been displayed at a memorial retrospective exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and has also been honored at The Tate in London. Some of his major works include Male and Female, Stenographic Figure, The Moon Woman, and Blue (Moby Dick).

Jackson Pollock’s Artwork Valued at Millions

Jackson Pollock’s artworks are highly valued and cherished today, with some selling for as much as $100+ million. In 2016, one of his paintings was sold for $200 million. After his death, his wife Lee Krasner managed and selectively sold his works, resulting in her estate being worth an inflation-adjusted $50 million thirty years later.

Early Life and Education

Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming to parents Stella May and Leroy Pollock. He grew up with his four older brothers and spent much of his childhood and adolescence in Arizona and California, where he became interested in exploring Native American culture. Despite being expelled from two different high schools, Pollock followed his older brother to New York City in 1930 at the age of 18 to study under Thomas Hart Benton at the Arts Students League. He also spent a summer touring the Western United States with Benton and fellow art student, Glen Rounds.

Pollock’s Career and Artistic Style

Jackson Pollock began using a paint pouring technique in the early 1940s after being introduced to liquid paint at an experimental workshop in New York City. He gained further recognition after painting a large mural commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim in 1943. Pollock’s famous “drip period” occurred from 1947 to 1950, during which his paintings started attracting attention and he became famous after a spread in “Life” magazine in 1949. However, he suddenly abandoned his drip style at the peak of his fame in 1950 and began incorporating darker colors and poured black paint into his work. This period of his work shows him trying to find balance between abstraction and depicting figures. He then returned to incorporating more color into his work and exhibited in a more commercial gallery. Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to his untimely death in 1956.

Pollock’s Life and Death

In 1942, Pollock met fellow artist Lee Krasner at an exhibit and the two began a relationship. They married in 1945 and moved to Long Island where Pollock perfected his drip technique in a barn studio. Krasner’s influence on her husband’s work has been widely discussed.

Pollock struggled with alcoholism and sought treatment from Jungian psychotherapists. He died in a car crash in 1956 while Krasner was visiting friends in Europe. Edith Metzger, Pollock’s mistress, was the only surviving passenger. Krasner managed Pollock’s estate and the couple are buried together in New York.

Legacy of Jackson Pollock

The Museum of Modern Art in New York organized a memorial retrospective exhibit immediately following Pollock’s death. Since then, MOMA and The Tate museum in London have held several exhibitions honoring Pollock’s work. While some critics have not found his work stunning, it is undeniable that his approach to art has influenced many artists. In a poll of over 500 artists and critics, Pollock’s “One: Number 31, 1950” was ranked the eighth-most influential piece of modern art. Some of his paintings have also held records for high prices at auctions and sales. Numerous books and films have been based on his life and work, including the 2000 film “Pollock,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “Jackson Pollock: An American Saga.”

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