Jackson Pollock Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

This black enamel painting achieved Pollock's current auction record when it sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2021, significantly exceeding its high estimate of £26.1 million. Number 17, 1951 (1951) belongs to Pollock's Black Pourings series, created when he temporarily abandoned his colourful drip style. During this period, at the height of his creative career, Pollock changed direction - vague figurative elements reminiscent of his earlier work began to reappear amidst the dramatic rhythmic swirls and convoluted skeins of his dripped paint. Its exceptional provenance, having been exhibited at major institutions worldwide, including the Gagosian and MoMA, New York, contributed to its strong performance at auction, where it beat Pollock's previous auction record by £1.8 million.

Number 31, 1949 (1949) achieved this impressive result at Christie's New York in May 2022. Created during what is widely considered Pollock's definitive "drip period" (1947-50), this oil painting is a classic example of the innovative technique that transformed modern art, and a prime demonstration of Abstract Expressionism's evolution. During this extraordinarily productive phase, Pollock refined his technique of pouring, flinging, and dripping industrial paints onto canvases laid on the floor. This method allowed him to engage his entire body in the creative process, earning the term "action painting" and forever changing the relationship between artist and canvas. Its commanding price demonstrates the continued market appreciation for works from this pivotal period in American art. It had previously been displayed at the likes of the Tate Modern in 1998-99, the Centre Georges Pompidou in 1982, and MoMA in 1967.

This dynamic composition, named after its subtle flecks of red paint, sold at Christie's New York in November 2018. To create his famous drip paintings, including Composition With Red Strokes (1950), Pollock used a variety of different utensils, including sticks, hardened brushes, and even basting syringes. Researchers who have studied Pollock's approach discovered that he deliberately manipulated fluid dynamics - avoiding the natural tendency of poured liquids to form coils and curls, instead creating continuous streams of paint that formed intricate, interconnected patterns. These movements were not random splashing; Pollock carefully controlled the properties of his materials to achieve specific visual effects.

Number 19, 1948 (1948) achieved this result at Christie's New York in May 2013, significantly exceeding its high estimate of £22.9 million. The work belongs to the pivotal moment when Pollock had fully developed his distinctive drip approach after moving to Springs in East Hampton, New York, where he and Lee Krasner purchased a farmhouse with a barn that Pollock converted into his studio. It was in this space, in relative isolation, between 1947 and 1951, that he created his most iconic works. This particular example follows a monochromatic colour scheme, foreshadowing the Black Pourings series of 1951-53.

Number 4, 1951 (1951) sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2012. The painting represents a crucial transition point in Pollock's artistic development, created during a period when he was exploring new directions beyond his signature drip style - this time, with a primarily black rather than white background. It maintains the energy and gesture of Pollock drip paintings, but introduces a more structured composition. Its exhibition history is limited, staying out of the public eye in private collections apart from a brief spell at the Cologne Kölnischer Kunstverein in 1964.

This iconic work from Pollock's breakthrough "drip period" achieved this result at Sotheby's New York in May 2018. The work's complex web of interlaced paint layers creates an experience that conveys Pollock's statement that "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." This approach represented a radical break from traditional easel painting and established Pollock as an unignorable figure in the development of post-war American art.

Number 16, 1949 (1949) sold at Christie's New York in November 2013. This work has a particularly notable provenance, having been acquired by Peggy Guggenheim, one of Pollock's most important early supporters, in December 1949 in exchange for one of his earlier works called Shooting Star (1947). Guggenheim was instrumental in launching Pollock's career, providing him with financial support through a monthly stipend and giving him his first major commission and exhibition opportunity. Number 16, 1949 (1949) was featured in Betty Parsons Gallery's 1950 exhibition and later at the Whitney Museum's The American Century exhibition (1999-2000) and the Museo Correr's Jackson Pollock in Venice (2002).

Number 17, 1949 (1949), painted immediately after Number 16, 1949 (1949), achieved this result at Sotheby's New York in November 2015. Created during Pollock's breakthrough into wider public consciousness - the same year Life magazine published an article with the provocative headline: "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" - this work exemplifies the approach that brought him unprecedented attention and cemented his position as a leading figure in American art. Pollock's choice of industrial enamel paint rather than traditional oils reflects his experimental approach to materials that better suited his technique, which was simultaneously organic and mechanical.

The vast, dense, largely monochromatic Number 28, 1951 (1951) sold at Christie's New York in May 2012. It was one of the first of Pollock’s drip paintings of this kind - with such a heavily-worked surface. It links Pollock’s year-long departure into the Black-and-White paintings that dominated 1951 with his dramatic return to colour. The seemingly writhing and wrestling surface is also indicative of the general deepening, at this time, of Pollock's painterly struggle in the face of the demons of his alcoholism, which had returned to haunt the artist and his work in 1951. This context adds a poignant dimension to the painting, as it represents some of the final creative achievements before Pollock's untimely death in an alcohol-related car accident in 1956.

Rounding off this top 10 list is The Blue Unconscious (1946), the only painting not from Pollock’s drip painting period. It achieved this result at Sotheby's New York in May 2013. Created in the year Pollock moved to his famous Long Island barn studio in East Hampton, this work represents a pivotal transitional phase just before Pollock fully developed his revolutionary drip technique. The painting shows the artist on the cusp of his breakthrough style while still incorporating more figurative elements. Its title reflects Pollock's interest in Jungian psychology and the unconscious mind, themes that remained important throughout his career. Through his Jungian therapy, Pollock came to understand the process of art-making as a form of psychological excavation, bringing forth images and energy from the depths of the unconscious mind.