Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center

Never had dripping paint onto canvas been so revolutionary until Jackson Pollock, dubbed by Time magazine as “Jack the Dipper”, declared it as art. Stating that his masterpieces were never by accident but a purposeful vision, and ignoring the parameters of using only an easel and brush to create art, Pollock became a prominent figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Pollock did not begin his artistic career experimenting with his revolutionary “motion painting” but studied art with Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton in New York at the Art Students League and began dabbling slightly with murals and landscape art. But as his artistic talents grew to new heights of originality, Pollock began to battle depression and alcoholism—a disease that would plague Pollock for the rest of his life, ultimately leading to his death. Gaining more and more notoriety, Pollock was invited to show his work at a group exhibition of French and American artists, where his artwork stunned not only Peggy Guggenheim, but Lenore Krasner, a virtual unknown American artist whom Pollock would later marry.
 
Only two weeks after their marriage, and with a generous loan by Peggy Guggenheim, Pollock and Krasner purchased an estate in East Hampton of Long Island, now the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center. Originally built in 1879, Pollock and Krasner moved into their home in 1946 and made multiple renovations, including painting the walls white, creating an open loft space, and giving the house some artistic character in painting the outside shutters blue. But this house was more than a home; it was a place of artistic thought and creation. Both Pollock and Krasner used the house as their studio with Krasner in the back parlor and Pollock in an upstairs bedroom. Later, Pollock moved the estate barn and renovated it to serve his needs as his own personal studio. Not only stunning in its quaint simplicity, the Pollock-Krasner house is appealing to any Pollock fan wishing to step inside the space where the troubled master created his masterpieces, proven when the original floorboards were excavated with paint remnants of Pollock’s famous poured paintings, including Autumn Rhythm and Lavender Mist.
 
POLLOCK-KRASNER HOUSE
830 Springs-Fireplace Road
East Hampton, NY 11937-1512
631-324-4929
For more information, check out Art + NYC: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY ART AND ARTISTS.

View Larger Map