Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil painting by the Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock. It dates from 1948 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1948, this untitled canvas by Jackson Pollock combines oil and enamel paints applied with his characteristic drip method. Executed on a horizontal surface, the work exemplifies the abstract expressionist emphasis on gesture and process, where the physical act of painting is integral to the piece’s meaning. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Technique & Style
The mixture of oil and enamel contributes to varied viscosity, allowing both fluid drips and thicker, more textured deposits.
Pollock employed a full‑body approach, moving around the canvas while pouring, flinging, and dripping paint. The resulting network of interlacing lines and splashes reflects the action‑painting strand of abstract expressionism, in which the dynamics of creation are foregrounded over representational content. The mixture of oil and enamel contributes to varied viscosity, allowing both fluid drips and thicker, more textured deposits.
History & Provenance
Since its completion, the canvas has remained within institutional holdings, ultimately entering the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s ongoing commitment to documenting pivotal works of mid‑twentieth‑century American abstraction and the evolution of Pollock’s experimental techniques.
Context
The painting emerges from a period when Pollock was refining his drip method, moving away from earlier figurative influences toward a purely gestural language. It aligns with contemporaneous explorations by artists seeking to dissolve the boundary between artist and artwork, emphasizing the immediacy of motion and the physicality of paint as a record of action.
Artist & collection
Artist
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an American painter.
