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Densely spaced lines and splatters in black, white, pale salmon pink, teal, and steel gray crisscross a rectangular cream-colored canvas in this abstract horizontal painting. The lines move in every direction. Most are straight but some curve slightly. The density eases a bit near the edges. Two sets of ghostly white handprints are visible at the upper corners. The artist signed and dated the painting in black paint in the lower left corner: “Jackson Pollock ’50.”

Jackson Pollock

Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950

East Building, Upper Level - Gallery 407B

Medium

oil, enamel, and aluminum on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 221 x 299.7 cm (87 x 118 in.)

framed: 223.5 x 302.3 x 3.8 cm (88 x 119 x 1 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Accession Number

1976.37.1

Artists / Makers

Jackson Pollock (artist) American, 1912 - 1956

Image Use

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Inscription

lower left: Jackson Pollock '50

Provenance

Purchased 1951 from the artist through (Betty Parsons Gallery, New York) by Edward F. Dragon and Alfonso A. Ossorio [1916-1990], East Hampton, New York; purchased 1976 through (Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd., London) by NGA.

Associated Names

Ossorio, Alfonso
Young, Edward Dragon

Exhibition History

1950: Jackson Pollock Exhibition, Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, 1950.

1961: Jackson Pollock, Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1961, no. 8, repro.

1967: Jackson Pollock, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1967, no. 45, repro.

1978: American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1978.

1982: Jackson Pollock, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1982, no. 264, repro.

1996: Abstraction in the Twentieth Century: Total Risk, Freedom, Discipline, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1996, fig. 106.

1998: Jackson Pollock, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Britain, London, 1998-1999, no. 174, repro.

2013: Angels, Demons, and Savages: Pollock, Ossorio, Dubuffet, The Phillips Collection, Washington; Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, 2013, no. 4, repro. (shown only in Washington).

2014: Make it New: Abstract Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, 1950-1975, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2014, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1959: O'Hara, Frank. Jackson Pollock. New York, 1959:26, repro. 53

1960: Robertson, Bryan. Jackson Pollock. New York, 1960: 20, repro.

1962: Ashton, Dore. The Unknown Shore: A View of Contemporary Art. Boston, 1962: repro. 125

1965: Sawyer, Kenneth B. "The Artist as Collector: Alfonso Ossorio." Studio International 196, no. 863 (March 1965):109

1971: Plessix, Francine du. "Opulence and Discrimination: Alfonso Ossorio." in Lipman, Jean, ed. The Collector in America. New York, 1971:202, repro.

1973: Johnson, Ellen. "Jackson Pollock and nature." Studio International 185, no. 956: 262, repro.

1974: Blake, Peter. "Ossorio." Architecture Plus. 2, no. 1 (January/February 1974):68, repro.

1977: Richard, Paul. "The Field Painting As a Metaphor For the Mind of Modern Man." The Washington Post. (May 29, 1977): E2, repro.

1978: King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 116, pl. 75., as Lavender Mist.

1979: Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 134, pl. 120.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 210, repro.

1980: Rosenzweig, Phyllis. The Fifties: Aspects of Painting in New York. Washington, DC:13, repro.

1980: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 18, 19, no. 63, color repro.

1981: Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: color repro. 222, detail 232,

1982: Hughes, Robert. "An American Legend in Paris." Time (1 February 1982): 70-71, repro. [exhibition review]

1982: Wilson, Simon. "Jackson Pollock at the Beaubourg." The Burlington Magazine (May 1982): 316.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 614, no. 949, color repro.

1988: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 192, no. 73, color repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 263, color repro.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 263, repro.

1992: Fiero, Gloria K. The Global Village of the Twentieth Century The Humanistic Tradition 6. 1st ed. [7th ed. 2015] Dubuque, Iowa, 1992: 89, repro.

1992: National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 266, repro.

1997: Hughes, Robert. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. New York, 1997: 486-487, color fig. 287.

2000: Torres, Louis and Michelle Marder Kamhi. What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand. Peru, Illinois, 2000: 407, nt. 159.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 436-439, no. 360, color repros.

2009: Cooper, Harry. The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2009: 7.

2009: Gariff, David, Eric Denker, and Dennis P. Weller. The World's Most Influential Painters and the Artists They Inspired. Hauppauge, NY, 2009: 172-173, color repro.

2010: Monet y la abstracción. Exh. cat. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2010: 33, 34 fig. 16.

2022: Conservation Division's Fiftieth Anniversary Committee. "Innovation and Collaboration: Fifty Years of Conservation at the National Gallery." Art for the Nation no. 66 (Fall 2022): 14-15, fig.16-17.