Jackson Pollock

Biography & Memoir, Artists, Architects & Photographers, Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Art History
Cover of the book Jackson Pollock by Evelyn Toynton, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Evelyn Toynton ISBN: 9780300163377
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: January 24, 2012
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Evelyn Toynton
ISBN: 9780300163377
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: January 24, 2012
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English

Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) not only put American art on the map with his famous "drip paintings," he also served as an inspiration for the character of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire—the role that made Marlon Brando famous. Like Brando, Pollock became an icon of rebellion in 1950s America, and the brooding, defiant persona captured in photographs of the artist contributed to his celebrity almost as much as his notorious paintings did. In the years since his death in a drunken car crash, Pollock's hold on the public imagination has only increased. He has become an enduring symbol of the tormented artist—our American van Gogh.

In this highly engaging book, Evelyn Toynton examines Pollock's itinerant and poverty-stricken childhood in the West, his encounters with contemporary art in Depression-era New York, and his years in the run-down Long Island fishing village that, ironically, was transformed into a fashionable resort by his presence. Placing the artist in the context of his time, Toynton also illuminates the fierce controversies that swirled around his work and that continue to do so. Pollock's paintings captured the sense of freedom and infinite possibility unique to the American experience, and his life was both an American rags-to-riches story and a darker tale of the price paid for celebrity, American style.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) not only put American art on the map with his famous "drip paintings," he also served as an inspiration for the character of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire—the role that made Marlon Brando famous. Like Brando, Pollock became an icon of rebellion in 1950s America, and the brooding, defiant persona captured in photographs of the artist contributed to his celebrity almost as much as his notorious paintings did. In the years since his death in a drunken car crash, Pollock's hold on the public imagination has only increased. He has become an enduring symbol of the tormented artist—our American van Gogh.

In this highly engaging book, Evelyn Toynton examines Pollock's itinerant and poverty-stricken childhood in the West, his encounters with contemporary art in Depression-era New York, and his years in the run-down Long Island fishing village that, ironically, was transformed into a fashionable resort by his presence. Placing the artist in the context of his time, Toynton also illuminates the fierce controversies that swirled around his work and that continue to do so. Pollock's paintings captured the sense of freedom and infinite possibility unique to the American experience, and his life was both an American rags-to-riches story and a darker tale of the price paid for celebrity, American style.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book Franz Liszt by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book The Informant by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray--And How to Return to Reality by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book The Rise and Decline of Nations by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Frederic Church by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book My Parent's Keeper by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Rooted Cosmopolitans by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book How the Earthquake Bird Got Its Name and Other Tales of an Unbalanced Nature by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Obsolete Objects in the Literary Imagination by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Conscience and Conversion by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book The Market System: What It Is, How It Works, and What To Make of It by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book On Evil by Evelyn Toynton
Cover of the book Liberty for All by Evelyn Toynton
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy