Number 4

1947

The start of “drip painting”

In 1947 Pollock began working on huge canvases laid out on the floor, splashing paint from brushes without touching the surface. He himself preferred the term “pouring technique”.

1948

A sensational show at Betty Parsons

Pollock's 1948 exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery was a sensation and a financial success. He was then able to get a larger studio.

8 August 1949

Life asks if he is the greatest living US painter

On 8 August 1949 Life published an article on Pollock under a headline asking whether he was the greatest living painter in the United States.

1950

Hans Namuth photographs and films Pollock at work

In 1950 the young photographer Hans Namuth photographed and filmed Pollock at work. Pollock had promised to start a new painting for the session but said it was already finished — then, as if realising it was not, he flung paint onto the canvas for about half an hour in an almost dancelike movement.

1950

“No. 12, 1949” at the Venice Biennale

Pollock's “No. 12, 1949”, a medium-sized drip painting, was shown in the United States Pavilion at the 1950 Venice Biennale.

after 1951

Abandons the drip style: the “black pourings”

At the peak of his fame Pollock abruptly abandoned the drip style: after 1951 his work grew darker, including a group painted in black on unprimed canvas. These “black pourings” were shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, and none of them sold.