Born in Cody, Wyoming, Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) became one of the most original American artists of the twentieth century. He was the youngest of five brothers, and his mother encouraged her sons to become artists; three of them did. While he was growing up, Pollock’s family moved all over the American West. But when he was eighteen, Pollock moved to New York City to become an artist.
Jackson Pollock is considered an Abstract Expressionist painter. He was the first "action painter", meaning that he would drip, pour, throw and splash his paint onto very large canvases which were often laid flat on the floor of his New York studio. Many say he would literally dance, as though in a trance, as he created his masterpieces. Pollock is widely considered the most challenging and influential American artist of the 20th century.
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“My painting does not come from
the easel.... On the floor I feel more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides
and literally be in the painting. " - Jackson Pollock