Details

Provenance

The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., New York Washburn Gallery, New York Private Collection, Chicago Sotheby's, New York, November 10, 2010, lot 109 Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

Literature

Francis Valentine O'Connor, ed., Jackson Pollock: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Drawings and Other Works , Supplement Number One, New York, 1995, cat. no. 43, p. 45, illustrated Condition This work is in very good condition overall. The edges of the sheet are deckled. The sheet has yellowed slightly with age, particularly around the edges. All the visible surface inconsistencies appear inherent to the artist's working method. The work is hinged verso to the matte intermittently along the top edge. Framed under glass. In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE. Catalogue Note Jackson Pollock is recognized as one of the Masters of 20 th century art, whose impact even during his own time was radical and far-reaching. A seminal figure in the emergence of American Abstract Expressionism, it was by and large the celebrity of Pollock which was the catalyst that would prove critical to the fledgling art movement of the 1940s and 1950s that ultimately brought New York to the forefront of the art world. Jackson Pollock's most sublime quality was the deeply intuitive genius of his line and the intimate connection between his artistic impulse, his wrist, and his medium. The tracery of the lines – whether executed in ink or enamel and oil paints – has the same sense of primal expression as if the artist's thought is translated into fluid presence on the paper. Untitled is a superb example of Pollock's draftsmanship, created at a critical moment in his oeuvre . Executed in ink, screened onto paper, the present work is from a rare series of unique serigraphs that Pollock made between the years 1950 and 1952. The work is a concentrated concurrent corollary to the mature drip paintings rendered at the time, relating to an important group of poured drawings that date between 1950 to 1951, in addition to relating to select poured black paintings executed during 1951 and 1952. The visual impact of Pollock's nearly symmetrical dripped ink works caught the attention of Andy Warhol several decades later, who translated their quiet, graphic, monochromatic power in his large scale Rorschach paintings. Although there is a controlled chaos of line and gesture to the present work, which poignantly defy the chaos of the artistic psyche, the work is at once vaguely figurative, with the gestures of ink laying bare Pollock's personal and tormented angst.

Catalog summary

Jackson Pollock Untitled numbered M14 on the reverse black ink on ivory modern laid paper Sheet: 11 1/4 by 7 1/2 in. 28.6 by 19.1 cm. Image: 7 by 5 in. 17.8 by 12.7 cm. Executed circa 1950-1951. Provenance The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., New York Washburn Gallery, New York Private Collection, Chicago Sotheby's, New York, November 10, 2010, lot 109 Acquired by the present owner from the above sale Literature Francis Valentine O'Connor, ed., Jackson Pollock: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Drawings and Other Works , Supplement Number One, New York, 1995, cat. no. 43, p. 45, illustrated Condition This work is in very good condition overall. The edges of the sheet are deckled. The sheet has yellowed slightly with age, particularly around the edges. All the visible surface inconsistencies appear inherent to the artist's working method. The work is hinged verso to the matte intermittently along the top edge. Framed under glass. In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE. Catalogue Note Jackson Pollock is recognized as one of the Masters of 20 th century art, whose impact even during his own time was radical and far-reaching. A seminal figure in the emergence of American Abstract Expressionism, it was by and large the celebrity of Pollock which was the catalyst that would prove critical to the fledgling art movement of the 1940s and 1950s that ultimately brought New York to the forefront of the art world. Jackson Pollock's most sublime quality was the deeply intuitive genius of his line and the intimate connection between his artistic impulse, his wrist, and his medium. The tracery of the lines – whether executed in ink or enamel and oil paints – has the same sense of primal expression as if the artist's thought is translated into fluid presence on the paper. Untitled is a superb example of Pollock's draftsmanship, created at a critical moment in his oeuvre . Executed in ink, screened onto paper, the present work is from a rare series of unique serigraphs that Pollock made between the years 1950 and 1952. The work is a concentrated concurrent corollary to the mature drip paintings rendered at the time, relating to an important group of poured drawings that date between 1950 to 1951, in addition to relating to select poured black paintings executed during 1951 and 1952. The visual impact of Pollock's nearly symmetrical dripped ink works caught the attention of Andy Warhol several decades later, who translated their quiet, graphic, monochromatic power in his large scale Rorschach paintings. Although there is a controlled chaos of line and gesture to the present work, which poignantly defy the chaos of the artistic psyche, the work is at once vaguely figurative, with the gestures of ink laying bare Pollock's personal and tormented angst.