Death of Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock died on 11 August 1956 in East Hampton, aged 44. An American painter and a leading figure of Abstract Expressionism, Pollock became famous for his drip technique, in which he poured and flung paint across large canvases laid on the floor. Works such as Number 1A and Autumn Rhythm emphasized the physical act of painting, and critics dubbed him Jack the Dripper. He was given wide attention by Life magazine in 1949, which asked whether he was the greatest living painter in the United States. He struggled with alcoholism and died in a car accident, and his wife, the painter Lee Krasner, helped to preserve his legacy.

Open on the timeline