By Alimat Aliyeva
A painting by Jackson Pollock, widely described as one of the
first truly abstract masterpieces in modern art history, has sold
for an astonishing $181 million (£135 million) at an auction in New
York, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media.
The artwork, Number 7A, 1948, went under the hammer at
Christie’s on Monday, setting a new auction record for the late
American artist.
Previously owned by media billionaire S. I. Newhouse, the
painting is now considered the fourth most expensive artwork ever
sold at auction, according to ARTnews.
The collection also included a bronze sculpture by Constantin
Brancusi titled Danaide, which sold for $107.6 million — making it
the second most expensive sculpture ever auctioned.
Pollock, who died in 1956, became one of the leading figures of
the Abstract Expressionist movement. His revolutionary “drip
painting” technique transformed postwar art and remains one of the
most recognizable and frequently imitated styles in contemporary
painting.
Before this sale, Pollock’s auction record stood at $61.2
million for Number 17, 1951, sold in 2021. However, several of his
works are believed to have fetched even higher prices through
private sales.
Christie’s described Number 7A, 1948 — a massive canvas
stretching more than three meters wide, covered in energetic black
paint drips with flashes of red — as a landmark work in the history
of abstract art.
An interesting detail is that Pollock created many of his iconic
works by placing canvases directly on the floor and moving around
them while pouring and splashing paint. This unconventional
approach changed the way artists interacted with the canvas and
influenced generations of modern and contemporary painters around
the world.