Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
| Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jackson Pollock  |
| Year | 1950 |
| Medium | Enamel paint on canvas |
| Movement | abstract expressionism, action painting |
| Dimensions | 266.7 cm (105.0 in) × 525.8 cm (207.0 in) |
| Identifiers | The Met object ID: 488978 |
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) is a
Creation
Autumn Rhythm was made in the fall of 1950 at Pollock's studio in
The creation of Autumn Rhythm was partly documented by Hans Namuth, who photographed Pollock at work over several months in 1950.[5] According to art historian Monica Bohm-Duchen, Namuth's photographs lend insight to the sequence in which Pollock filled in the canvas, and the order in which paint colors were applied to the work. Pollock began by painting the right third of the canvas, laying down a skein of thin black lines, and then adding other colors of paint (mostly browns and white, with a small amount of teal blue) using several methods of dripping and pouring to create a variety of types of lines and puddled areas of paint until the section began to resemble its finished state. He then moved on to the center section, and ultimately the left-hand section using the same process. Throughout the making of the work, he painted from all sides of the canvas.[6]
Title and exhibition
Pollock gave the painting the title Number 30, and it was exhibited under that name at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1951, and at the Museum of Modern Art as part of its 15 Americans exhibition in 1952.[1][7] From 1947 to 1952, Pollock gave his works numbers rather than titles in order not to distract viewers with implied meanings.[4] The numbered titles do not appear to correspond to the sequence in which works were made.[8] When the picture was shown at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1955, it carried the title Autumn Rhythm with no reference to the number.[1] Pollock did not record why he changed the title of the painting; art historian Timothy J. Clark believes that Autumn Rhythm was Pollock's own title, in contrast to some other works of this period, which received title suggestions from Pollock's friend, critic Clement Greenberg.[9] In 1957, the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the painting from Pollock's estate for $20,000 plus a trade of a work already in the Met collection, Number 17, 1951. Met curator Robert Beverly Hale proposed and supervised the acquisition.[10] Since then, the work has generally been exhibited as Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).[1]
Legacy
Researchers looking at the underlying
Further reading
The following have extended discussion of Autumn Rhythm.
- Geldzahler, Henry (1965). American Painting in the Twentieth Century. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. OCLC 878548108.
- Rubin, William (March 1967). "Jackson Pollock and the Modern Tradition, Part II". Artforum. 5 (7): 28–37. ISSN 0004-3532.
- Johnson, Ellen H. (1995). "Jackson Pollock and Nature" in Modern Art and the Object: A Century of Changing Attitudes. New York: Icon Editions. ISBN 0064302261.
- Varnedoe, Kirk, with Karmel, Pepe (1998). Jackson Pollock (exhibition catalogue). New York: Abrams. ISBN 9780810961937.)
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References
- ^ a b c d e "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ISSN 0028-6583.
- ISBN 9780517560846. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Francis V. "Pollock, Jackson". Oxford Art Online. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ISBN 9780517560846. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ISBN 9780520233782. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ^ "15 Americans". The Museum of Modern Art.
- OCLC 241037.
- ISBN 9780262071208.
- ISBN 9780916366476. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ISBN 9780080527581. Retrieved 16 June 2014.