Artist couple, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, bought their house in East Hampton, New York, when they saw it for sale having visited friends nearby in 1945. Art collector Peggy Guggenheim loaned them the $2,000 they needed for the down payment in exchange for a number of artworks.
Upon moving in, Pollock converted an upstairs bedroom for use as a studio. In 1946, Pollock started using the outside barn as his studio, and Krasner began using the bedroom as hers. Pollock's brother had given him a large collection of square Masonite baseball game boards, which he used to cover the floor of his studio.
Pollock of course used his studio floor to great effect, opting to lay his canvases down on the boards and work from above. “My painting does not come from the easel,” Pollock elaborated, “I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”
The two artists also had a profound influence on each other’s work. Krasner's extensive training in modern art and her knowledge of contemporary techniques enabled her to teach Pollock many tricks, transforming his conception of what contemporary art could be. In the shared space of their East Hampton studio, Krasner taught her husband the dominant tenets of modernist painting, which helped Pollock to find a new style that fit a more commercial genre of modern art. During this time, Krasner became the main person whose opinion he would trust. But the glory days of their shared idyll came to an end in 1956, when Pollock’s growing alcoholism led to his tragic death in a car crash. Following her husband’s sudden death, Krasner began using the barn as her studio, and continued painting for many years.
(Source: mutualart.com)
Upon moving in, Pollock converted an upstairs bedroom for use as a studio. In 1946, Pollock started using the outside barn as his studio, and Krasner began using the bedroom as hers. Pollock's brother had given him a large collection of square Masonite baseball game boards, which he used to cover the floor of his studio.
Pollock of course used his studio floor to great effect, opting to lay his canvases down on the boards and work from above. “My painting does not come from the easel,” Pollock elaborated, “I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”
The two artists also had a profound influence on each other’s work. Krasner's extensive training in modern art and her knowledge of contemporary techniques enabled her to teach Pollock many tricks, transforming his conception of what contemporary art could be. In the shared space of their East Hampton studio, Krasner taught her husband the dominant tenets of modernist painting, which helped Pollock to find a new style that fit a more commercial genre of modern art. During this time, Krasner became the main person whose opinion he would trust. But the glory days of their shared idyll came to an end in 1956, when Pollock’s growing alcoholism led to his tragic death in a car crash. Following her husband’s sudden death, Krasner began using the barn as her studio, and continued painting for many years.
(Source: mutualart.com)
