Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers
name: label: Creator
content: Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956
label: Creator
content: Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984
label: Names
content: Betty Parsons Gallery
label: Names
content: Martha Jackson Gallery
label: Names
content: Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975
label: Names
content: Brooks, James, 1906-1992
label: Names
content: Burkhardt, Rudy
label: Names
content: Cavaliere, Barbara
label: Names
content: Davis, Bill
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
label: Names
content: Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994
label: Names
content: Eames, Ray
label: Names
content: Forge, Andrew
label: Names
content: Friedman, B. H. (Bernard Harper), 1926-
label: Names
content: Glaser, Jane R.
label: Names
content: Gray, Cleve
label: Names
content: Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994
label: Names
content: Gruen, John
label: Names
content: Holmes, Doloris
label: Names
content: Isaacs, Reginald R., 1911-
label: Names
content: Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989
label: Names
content: Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005
label: Names
content: Kadish, Reuben, 1913-1992
label: Names
content: Maddox, Charles
label: Names
content: Matter, Mercedes
label: Names
content: McCoy, Sanford, Mrs.
label: Names
content: Miller, Daniel
label: Names
content: Miller, Robert, 1932 Apr. 17-
label: Names
content: Motherwell, Robert
label: Names
content: Namuth, Hans
label: Names
content: Ossorio, Alfonso, 1916-1990
label: Names
content: Pollock, Charles C.
label: Names
content: Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Rose, Barbara
label: Names
content: Rouche, Burton
label: Names
content: Smith, Tony, 1912-
label: Names
content: Still, Clyfford, 1904-
label: Names
content: Valliere, James
label: Names
content: Wasserman, Tamara E.
label: Names
content: Wright, William
label: Names
content: Zogbaum, Wilfrid, 1915-1965
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Art -- Economic aspects
label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers of Jackson Pollock were donated in 1983 by Lee Krasner through Eugene V. Thaw shortly before her death. Additional material about Pollock and the papers of Lee Krasner were donated in 1985 by Eugene V. Thaw, executor of Lee Krasner's estate.
creator: label: Creator
content: Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956
label: Creator
content: Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984
setName: label: See more items in
content: Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and wife Lee Krasner measure 16.1 linear feet and date from circa 1914 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1942 to 1984. The collection documents their personal and professional lives, as well as the legacy of Jackson Pollock's work after his death. Found are biographical material, correspondence, writings by Krasner and others, research material, business and financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork by others, photographs, interview transcripts, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Jackson Pollock was born in 1912, in Cody, Wyoming, the youngest of five sons. His family moved several times during his childhood, finally settling in Los Angeles. In 1930 he joined his older brother, Charles, in New York City, and studied with Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League of New York. Pollock worked during the 1930s for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. During 1936 he worked in artist David Alfaro Siqueiros's Experimental Workshop. In 1938 he began psychiatric treatment for alcoholism, and his artwork was greatly influenced by Jungian analysis and the exploration of unconscious symbolism.

 In 1943 Pollock had his first one-man exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's New York gallery, Art of this Century, and continued to exhibit there over the next several years. A major turning point in Pollock's life and art was in 1945 when he married fellow artist Lee Krasner and moved to East Hampton, Long Island. There he developed his mature painting style, and became famous for his abstract pouring technique on large canvases. The height of his creativity spanned from 1947 to 1952, and his work was promoted by art critic Clement Greenberg. Along with other abstract expressionists including Hans Hofmann, Alfonso Ossorio, and Barnett Newman, he joined the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1947. He had his most successful one-man show in 1950 which was widely publicized and praised. This exhibition, combined with a 1949 feature article in LIFE magazine, made Pollock an American celebrity.

 In 1952 Pollock moved his work to Sidney Janis Gallery and returned to earlier motifs in a search for new breakthroughs. The last few years of his life he suffered from mental and physical health problems, and in August, 1956 he died in a car accident. His wife, Lee Krasner, oversaw his estate and worked with many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, on Pollock retrospective exhibitions. 

 Lee Krasner was born Lenore Krassner in 1908 in Brooklyn, New York to Russian immigrant parents. In 1926 she was admitted to the Women's Art School of The Cooper Union, and in 1928 she attended the Art Students League. After graduating from The Cooper Union in 1929, she attended the National Academy of Design until 1932. After briefly attending City College and Greenwich House, she worked for the Public Works of Art Project and the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, and finally became an assistant in 1935 on the WPA Federal Art Project, Mural Division. From 1937 to 1940 she studied at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts and began exhibiting with the American Abstract Artists group. 

 In 1942 Krasner met Pollock as they were both preparing to exhibit work in the same show. Although they married and she became immersed in his career, she continued to exhibit her own work with other abstract artists and from 1946 to 1949 worked on the Little Image painting series. In 1953 she began working on collages, a medium she would come back to again later in her career. After Pollock's death her work was greatly influence by her sadness and anger, creating a visible evolution of her style. 

For the rest of her career, Krasner consistently exhibited her work in both group and solo exhibitions. She had her first retrospective at Whitechapel Gallery, London, in 1965, and in 1966, she joined Marlborough Gallery, New York which represented Pollock's work as well. In the 1970s and early 1980s Krasner won many awards for her achievement in the visual arts, including the Augustus St. Gaudens Medal and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She returned to the medium of collage, and in 1976 joined the Pace Gallery, New York. In 1981 she joined the Robert Miller Gallery, New York. Lee Krasner continued creating art until her death in 1984.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 16.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1914-1984
label: Date
content: bulk 1942-1984
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.polljack
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Transcripts
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 2 series:

Series 1: Jackson Pollock papers and Lee Krasner papers about Jackson Pollock, circa 1914-1984 (Box 1-7, 16, OV 18, FC 19-22; 7.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Lee Krasner papers, circa 1927-1984 (Box 7-15, 17; 8.6 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner received preliminary processing as separate collections upon arrival at the Archives and were microfilmed separately on reels 3046-3049 and 3771-3780. The two collections were merged and arranged into one logical archival arrangement and described by Erin Corley in 2005-2006 and digitized in 2007-2008 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Motion picture film reels were inspected and re-housed in 2016-2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Additional finding aid description of the film recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The papers of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2006 and 2008. The Jackson Pollock papers and photographs from the Lee Krasner papers were scanned from originals. The bulk of the Lee Krasner papers were digitized from 7 reels of microfilm. In total, there are 15096 images available. All of the sound recordings have also been digitized and  are available at the Archives of American Art offices.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and wife Lee Krasner measure 16.1 linear feet and date from circa 1914 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1942 to 1984. The collection documents their personal and professional lives, as well as the legacy of Jackson Pollock's work after his death. Found are biographical material, correspondence, writings by Krasner and others, research material, business and financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork by others, photographs, interview transcripts, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film. 

The collection is divided into two series, the first of which focuses on Pollock and includes his scattered papers dating from circa 1914 to his death in 1956, as well as Krasner's papers dating from his death to 1984 about managing Pollock's legacy. This series includes biographical materials, including transcripts and audio recordings of an interview with William Wright in 1949; Pollock's and Krasner's correspondence with Thomas Hart Benton, Betty Parsons Gallery, Bill Davis, B. H. Friedman, Reginald Isaacs, Sidney Janis, Violet De Lazlo, Martha Jackson Gallery, Alfonso Ossorio, Tony Smith, and Clyfford Still, and with one another; Krasner's correspondence concerning Pollock's estate and artwork after his death; numerous writings about Pollock, including an original draft of Bryan Robertson's biography and an essay by Clement Greenberg.

 James Valliere extensive research files on Pollock for a never-published biography were given to Krasner and filed in Series 1. These include scattered correspondence with Lee Krasner, and Pollock's family and friends, including Charles Pollock, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert Motherwell. There are also transcripts of interviews Valliere conducted with Pollock's friends and colleagues, including James Brooks, Dorothy Dehner, Clement Greenberg, Reuben Kadish, Lee Krasner, Charles Maddox, Mrs. Sanford McCoy, Daniel T. Miller, Robert Miller, and Tony Smith. The original audio reels and duplicates exist for many and are filed here. Additional interviews were conducted with Willem de Kooning, Alfonso Ossorio, and Burton Rouche, but not transcribed - these are filed in Series 1.10, Audio Recordings and Motion Picture Film.

 Also found in Series 1 are scattered business records documenting Krasner's handling of Pollock's estate and legacy; printed materials relating to Pollock, including published biographies, exhibition catalogs, and clippings; two scrapbooks; and a sketchbook by an unidentified artist. Numerous photographs of Pollock include childhood and family photographs, photographs of Pollock in his studio by Hans Namuth, Rudy Burckhardt, and Herbert Matter, photographs of Pollock with Lee Krasner, and exhibition photographs. Audio recordings and motion film in Series 1 include a 1964 16mm film about Pollock (VHS copies are available) and reel-to-reel recordings of untranscribed interviews of Pollock's friends and colleagues by James Valliere, including interviews with Willem de Kooning and Alfonso Ossorio. Additional transcribed interviews are filed in subseries 1.4.

Lee Krasner's papers documenting her own career are arranged in Series 2 and date from 1927-1984. Biographical materials include resumes and awards, school documents, family documentation, and exhibition lists. Her correspondence with artist friends and art colleagues is extensive and includes many letters from artists such as Philip Johnson, Ray Eames, Cleve Gray, and Hans Namuth. She also maintained correspondence with many art historians and critics, curators, gallery owners, collectors, arts-related and social organizations, admirers, and family members.

There are thirteen transcripts of interviews with Krasner by Bruce Glaser, Barbara Cavaliere, Andrew Forge, Emily Wasserman, Barbara Rose, and others. The original audio recordings for these transcripts are filed in series 2.10, along with other audio recordings for which there are no transcripts, including interviews by John Gruen, Delores Holmes, Mercedes Matter, the Martha Dean Radio Show, NBC Today Show, and WQXR radio. There are also audio recordings of Krasner's lectures in series 2.10.

Krasner's papers also include writings and reminiscences by Krasner; writings about Krasner; printed materials such as exhibition catalogs and clippings; and one scrapbook containing clippings and photographs. Numerous photographs are of Krasner, including portrait photographs taken by Hans Namuth; of Krasner with Jackson Pollock and family and friends, and of her exhibitions and artwork. 

Users should note that Pollock's and Krasner's papers contain similar types of material that often overlap in subject matter, especially among the correspondence and photographs.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Found in the Archives of American Art are the Charles Pollock Papers, 1902-1990, which includes correspondence, photographs, and other files relating to his brother, Jackson Pollock. Other resources in the Archives are oral history interviews with Lee Krasner, including a series of interviews conducted by Dorothy Seckler between 1964 and 1968, and interviews conducted by Barbara Rose in 1966 and Doloris Holmes in 1972.