Number 11, 1949

Today we present the last piece from Indiana University Art Museum. But it is something special, rarely seen on DailyArt :) Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings have become icons of modern art. Using commercial paints, Pollock splattered or dripped the unmixed paint on a canvas laid on the floor. Although he is known for his monumental, mural-sized canvases, Pollock worked on a relatively small scale in 1949, creating works that exhibit lyrical qualities. Number 11, 1949 is characterized by a richly layered web of patterns and colors. Patches of mustard yellow, sea green, and rust brown emerge through a tangled skein of white, spidery lines. Pollock painted Number 11, 1949 at the height of his experimentation with the drip technique, and he exhibited this painting in his third solo show at the Betty Parsons Gallery in late 1949. A few years later, it traveled to an exhibition Japan; it is distinguished as one of the first works of abstract expressionism to be displayed in that country.