Untitled

1947

Not on view

The size, color palette, and composition of this untitled drawing bear strong similarities to the only drawing Pollock titled, War (also 1947, MMA 1982.147.25), which was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s 1937 mural Guernica. Both War and this drawing focus on a theme of ritual destruction: the bonfire. Here, Pollock also includes a scene of mythic sacrifice. A human form and a birdlike figure holding a knife are silhouetted by the medley of colors and forms spewing from the fire at right. Are the figures present at the scene or conjured by the fire? Whether real or imagined, they transform the senseless carnage of the scene into a narrative that encourages us to reflect on human nature.

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled
Artist: Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912–1956 East Hampton, New York)
Date: 1947
Medium: Brush and black ink and colored pencils on paper
Dimensions: 20 5/8 in. × 26 in. (52.4 × 66 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Lee Krasner Pollock, 1982
Object Number: 1982.147.23
Rights and Reproduction: © 2010 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By Jackson Pollock

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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War, Jackson Pollock American, Ink and colored pencils on paper — War
Jackson Pollock
1947

Untitled, Jackson Pollock American, Black ink on paper — Untitled
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1950

Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook), Jackson Pollock American, Brush and ink on paper (recto); brush and ink on paper (verso) — Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook)
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1939–42

Untitled, Jackson Pollock American, Colored pencils, pen and black ink on paper — Untitled
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1934–37

Sheet of Studies, Jackson Pollock American, Pen and black ink on paper — Sheet of Studies
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1947

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