Rating and value of works, drawings, paintings by Jackson Pollock

Inventor of action painting, Jackson Pollock (1912 - 1956), is a key name in American Expressionism. Pollock brought a new energy and spontaneity to the artistic gesture, greatly influencing the American school of painting. 

If you own a work by or based on the artist Jackson Pollock and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and send you a precise estimate of its value on the current market. Thereafter, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value

A major figure of American Expressionism, Jackson Pollock quickly made his mark on the international art market.

Highly prized and sought-after, Pollock's paintings can fetch several tens of millions of euros at auction, as evidenced by his canvas Number 17, 1951,estimated at over 46 million euros at Sotheby's in 2021. Thus, Jackson Pollock establishes himself as a sure bet on the art market.  

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

The artist's works and style

Jackson Pollock nurtures a deep passion for primitive art and is inspired by Indian rituals. His painting style, at once surrealist and abstract expressionist, evolved over time by combining various techniques.

The artist's canvases oscillate between figuratism and abstraction, sometimes distorted to create a sensation of undulation. Jackson Pollock also produced portraits that were equally abstract.

The artist also produced a number of sculptures, including self-portraits in bronzes and abstract sculptures in glass.  

Jackson Pollock's life

Jackson Pollock was born in Wyoming in 1912.

From an early age, Pollock was influenced by the primitive art and Indian rituals he observed in his hometown. He spent these years in eight successive cities, in Arizona and California.

After leaving high school in 1927, already developing an addiction to alcohol, he briefly joined the School of Manual Arts in California before moving to New York in 1930. There, he studied mural painting and life modeling with realist painter Thomas Hart Benton, before taking up sculpture. He was already fascinated by material and format.

He was drawn to Orozco's murals and frescoes. President Roosevelt and the New Deal policy will enable him to flourish in this format thanks to projects aimed at helping artists.

He incorporates stenciling and airbrushing into his work, and discovers John Graham's Primitive art and Picasso, which inspires him enormously. His study of the Guernica exhibition and other works by the Cubist master were to influence him greatly.

He is particularly focused on Picasso's minotaurs, which remind him of the primitive figures of the Indian peoples of his native region.

His career was regularly interrupted by successive rehabs and therapies, as the artist found it extremely difficult to extricate himself from his addictions. Returning to his studio at the end of the 30s, his works took on a more expressionist tone.

He also drew inspiration from shamanic cultures, whose creative process was explained by Hubert Damisch. After the exhibition, Lee Krasner took a close interest in his work, bringing him closer to Willem de Kooning, Clement Greenberg and Hans Hoffman.

He coined the term all over, which corresponds to a process aimed at arranging elements evenly around the painting. At this time, he was stylistically close to Janet Sobel.

From 1947, he began to work by pouring paint directly into the pot, as artists such as Georg Baselitz and Olivier Debré. He controls the lines and fluidity of paint and pigment, unlike other abstract artists who allow natural movement to flourish.

From 1948, he no longer titles his paintings but only numbers them, putting more emphasis on the serial mechanism and defending the idea of privileging painting over the confusion that titles can sometimes bring.

He is considered the first American painter of abstract expressionism, and represented the USA at the Venice Biennale in 1950.

He then coined the expression " action painting " in 1952, aimed at qualifying the pictorial technique and the American abstract art movement of the time. He then carried out a number of other experiments, and began painting on his canvases with syringes.

The following years were marked by his countless surrealist drawings, reminiscent of Picasso, as well as his key early works.

The artist painted on the ground and drew inspiration from West Indian methods. Pollock often poured paint directly onto the canvas. Known through the press, the artist experimented with different techniques and mediums, integrating figures into his works and playing with fluid or thick paint effects.

For him, his paintings had an autonomous life and the painter's role was to let them emerge.

Pollock died drunk in a car accident in 1956.

The role of Abstract Expressionism in the USA

Abstract Expressionism is a major artistic movement that emerged in the USA in the 1940s, marking a decisive turning point in the history of modern art.

This post-war period, marked by upheaval and cultural reinvention, saw the birth of a generation of artists seeking to explore the depths of the human soul through radically new forms and techniques.

Far from academic conventions and figurative representations, Abstract Expressionism is distinguished by an unprecedented gestural freedom and emotional intensity, reflecting the urgency and anguish of an age in search of meaning.

Jackson Pollock, the emblematic figure of this movement, single-handedly embodies this break with previous artistic traditions.

His work, often perceived as a form of total liberation of the artistic gesture, is characterized by the technique of " drip painting " or "peinture par coulures", which he developed from 1947 onwards.

This method involves pouring or spraying paint onto a canvas laid out on the ground, creating dynamic compositions where every line seems both spontaneous and controlled.

Pollock does not seek to represent the visible world, but to express deep emotional and psychic states, giving rise to an art form where the geste of the painter becomes the very essence of the work.

The Abstract Expressionism movement is characterized by a desire to push back the boundaries of form and content.

In contrast to the European artists of Surrealism or Cubism, the American Abstract Expressionists, such as Pollock, Willem de Kooning or Mark Rothko, reject any attempt at figuration or explicit narrative.

They privilege the exploration of the inner forces of the human being, often through monumental works where color, texture and movement create an almost tangible presence.

This approach, which emphasizes the act of creation itself, is what Pollock describes as "action painting": a process in which the artist's energy and gesture are captured in the final work.

Understanding Jackson Pollock's work

The impact of Abstract Expressionism goes far beyond visual art. It reflects a cultural and philosophical climate in which individuality and authenticity are exalted. The artists of this movement seek to connect with an inner truth, often as a reaction against the dehumanization perceived in the modern world. In this, Abstract Expressionism is not only an aesthetic exploration, but also an existential quest, where each canvas becomes a battleground for the artist's soul. 

In Pollock's works, for example, canvases become living surfaces, where every drip of paint bears witness to a struggle between order and chaos, control and letting go. By refusing to give titles to his works from 1948 onwards, Pollock insists on the autonomous nature of his creations, inviting the viewer to a free interpretation, devoid of any textual reference. This approach reinforces the idea that art is a universal language, capable of expressing emotions and experiences that transcend words.

Abstract Expressionism, through its major figures such as Jackson Pollock, not only redefined the boundaries of art, but also asserted America's place in the global artistic landscape. By emphasizing pure expression and spontaneity of gesture, this movement opened the way to new forms of creation, influencing generations of artists and expanding the field of possibilities in contemporary art.

His signature

Not all of Jackson Pollock's works are signed.

Although there are variants, here's a first example of his signature:

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