Jackson Pollock's Mural

This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of a post-war masterpiece and its restoration. In many ways, "Mural", Jackson Pollock's (1912-1956) first large-scale painting represents the birth of his legend. The controversial artist's creation of this painting has been recounted in dozens of books and dramatized in the Oscar-winning Pollock. Rumours about its creation abound – such as it being painted in one alcohol-fuelled night and at first didn't fit the intended space. But never in doubt was that it was pivotal, not only for Pollock but for the Abstract Expressionists who would follow his radical conception of art – "no limits, just edges". "Mural", painted in 1943, was Pollock's first major commission. It was made for the entrance hall of the Manhattan duplex of Peggy Guggenheim who donated it to the University of Iowa in the 1950s where it stayed until its 2012 arrival for conservation and study at the Getty Center. This book unveils the findings of that examination providing a more complete picture of Pollock's process than ever before and includes an essay by eminent Pollock scholar Ellen Landau and an introduction by comedian Steve Martin.