Number 18, 1950

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was a leading figure of Abstract Expressionism, best known for his ‘Action Paintings’. Pollock dripped and splattered household paint onto large unprimed canvases, creating highly spontaneous and expressive paintings. This radically tactile approach emphasised direct, physical contact with his materials, paving the way for a new era of non-representational art. Pollock is a lasting symbol of American modernism in its finest hour.