Inscription: Signed and dated (bottom center, in black ink): Jackson Pollock 38 [signed and dated 1938 by the artist with a porous pointed pen that came into use after 1940]
the artist, Springs, N.Y. (until d. 1956; his estate, New York, 1956–62); Lee Krasner Pollock, New York (1962–82; her gift to MMA)
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Jackson Pollock," December 19, 1956–February 3, 1957, no. 36 (as "Drawing," 1938, lent by Lee Krasner Pollock, Springs, Long Island).
Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. "Pollock, IV Bienal," September 22–December 30, 1957, no. 1 (drawings section; as "Drawing," 1938; lent by Lee Krasner Pollock, Springs, Long Island, New York).
Rome. Museo Nazionale Romano. "Jackson Pollock: 1912–1956," March 1–30, 1958, no. 32 (as "Zeichnung," 1938, lent by Lee Krasner Pollock, Springs, Long Island, New York).
Paris. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou. "Jackson Pollock et las nouvelle peinture américaine," January 16–February 15, 1959, no. 30.
Düsseldorf. Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen. "Jackson Pollock," September 5–October 8, 1961, no. 45 (as "Drawing," 1938).
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Jackson Pollock," October 24–November 29, 1961, no. 45.
Milan. Toninelli Arte Moderno. "Jackson Pollock," November–December 1962, no. 25.
New York. Marlborough-Gerson Gallery. "Jackson Pollock," January–February 1964, no. 48 (as "Drawing," ca. 1938).
Zurich. Marlborough Galerie AG. "A Selection of European and American Watercolors and Drawings," 1969, no. 161.
Toronto. Marlborough–Godard Ltd. "A Selection of European and American Watercolors and Drawings," 1969, no. 161.
Marlborough Fine Art (London) Ltd. "A Selection of European and American Watercolors and Drawings," 1969, no. 161.
New York. Marlborough Gallery, Inc. "A Selection of European and American Watercolors and Drawings," 1969, no. 161 (as "Drawing," ca. 1938).
Rome. Marlborough Galleria d'Arte. "A Selection of European and American Watercolors and Drawings," 1969, no. 161.
New York. Marlborough-Gerson Gallery. "Jackson Pollock: Black and White," March 1969, no. 25 (as "Untitled," ca. 1941).
Rome. Palazzo Venezia. "Jackson Pollock, opere 1930–1956," April–June 1983, unnumbered cat. (as "Pagina da un Album per Schizzi," 1938).
Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale. "Jackson Pollock–A Painter's Drawings 1930–1956," January 4–29, 1984, unnum. checklist.
Des Moines Art Center. "Jackson Pollock Drawings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–February 24, 1985, no. 9.
Tokyo. The Shoto Museum of Art. "Drawings Jackson Pollock: Loan Exhibition from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," August 20–September 29, 1985, no. 13 (recto; as "Page from a Sketchbook").
Fukuoka Art Museum. "Drawings Jackson Pollock: Loan Exhibition from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 8–27, 1985, no. 13.
New York. Gagosian Gallery. "Jackson Pollock: Black Enamel Paintings," April–May 1990, no. 14 (as "Untitled").
Stuttgart. Württembergischer Kunstverein. "Jackson Pollock: Zeichnungen," October 11–December 2, 1990, nos. 10 and 11 (as "Skizzenbuchseite").
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Abstract Expressionism, Works on Paper: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 26–April 4, 1993, no. 31 (as "Page from a ketchbook").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Abstract Expressionism, Works on Paper: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 4–September 12, 1993, extended to November 7, 1993, no. 31.
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. "Abstract Expressionism: Works on Paper, Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11–June 4, 1995, no. 42 (as "Page from a Sketchbook").
New York. Jason McCoy Inc. "Jackson Pollock: New Found Works," September 12–October 28, 1995, not in catalogue.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Jackson Pollock," November 1, 1998–February 2, 1999, no. 46 (dated c. 1939–42 [signed and dated "38"]).
Nagoya. Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. "Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective," November 11, 2011–January 22, 2012, no. 18.
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. "Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective," February 10–May 6, 2012, no. 18.
Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C, Willis Towers Watson FAJS. "Ten Americans: After Paul Klee," February 3–May 6, 2018, unnumbered cat. (p. 186).
Frank O'Hara. Jackson Pollock. New York, 1959, ill. p. 13, calls it "Drawing" and dates it 1938.
Bryan Robertson. Jackson Pollock. New York, 1960, p. 138, pl. 70, calls it "Drawing" and dates it 1938.
Lawrence Alloway. "Jackson Pollock." Paletten 1 (1961), ill. p. 82, calls it "Drawing" and dates it 1938.
Francis V. O'Connor. "The Genesis of Jackson Pollock, 1912 to 1943." PhD diss., Johns Hopkins University, 1965, pp. 196–97, pl. 61 (recto), suggests that Picasso's work from the late 1930s influenced this drawing, particularly the bull image; notes that it anticipates Pollock's paintings of 1943.
Francis Valentine O'Connor and Eugene Victor Thaw, ed. Jackson Pollock: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Drawings, and Other Works. Vol. 3, Drawings, 1930–1956. New Haven, 1978, p. 145, no. 604, ill., note that the verso has not been examined; assert that the date 1938 is too early.
Tilman Osterwold inJackson Pollock: Zeichnungen. Exh. cat., Württembergischer Kunstverein. Stuttgart, 1990, pp. 10, 17, 71 pls. 10 and 11.
Lisa Mintz Messinger inJackson Pollock: Zeichnungen. Exh. cat., Württembergischer Kunstverein. Stuttgart, 1990, pp. 63–64.
Ben Heller. Jackson Pollock: Black Enamel Paintings. Exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery. New York, 1990, p. 14, no. 14, ill. (recto, color), lists it among the "most visible precursors of the Black Paintings".
Lisa Mintz Messinger. Abstract Expressionism, Works on Paper: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art, Atlanta. New York, 1992, pp. 84, 88, 90, fig. 31 (recto, color), dates it ca. 1938; notes that the images reflect influences of Picasso, Klee, Miro, and American Indian art.
Holland Cotter. "Abstract Expressionism: The Lighter, Quieter Side." New York Times (June 4, 1993), p. C24.
Lisa Messinger. Abstract Expressionism: Works on Paper, Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, 1995, p. 75, no. 42, ill. (recto and verson, color), dates it ca. 1938–42.
W. Jackson Rushing. Native American Art and the New York Avant–Garde: A History of Cultural Primitivism. Austin, 1995, pp. 174–75, fig. 6-4, calls it an untitled page from a sketchbook, ca. 1938–42; tentatively cites it as one of the earliest examples of Native American influence in Pollock's work.
Francis Valentine O'Connor, ed. Jackson Pollock: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Drawings, and Other Works., Supplement Number One. New York, 1995, pp. 82, 85, no. 3:604, fig. 19 (verso only).
Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912–1956 East Hampton, New York)
ca. 1950
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
