Does Jackson Pollock's Mural Reveal a Hidden Signature?
Beneath the swirls, squiggles, and splatter, reporter Henry Adams reveals how Jackson Pollock made an aptly abstract name for himself. In 1943’s Mural, a work that one MoMA curator said established the expressionist as the world’s premier modern painter, Adams maintains that, through characteristically unorthodox letters, the artist smeared his first and last names across the entire background of the painting. With his new look at one of the previous century’s most profound works of art, Adams is convinced that Pollock designed the work around his signature, despite the fact that some experts of the painter have been dubious. But art historian Sue Taylor, who deems Adams’ finding feasible, says, “Pollock would often begin with some sort of figurative device to which he would then respond—and eventually bury under layers of paint.” Though no further analysis has been nor plans to be done thus far to answer the question about the alleged autograph, if Adams' is accurate, Mural could be worth even more than the reported $140 million it sold for in 2006, marking the highest price ever paid for a work of art.
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