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Art & Antiques | Summer 2005
Authenticating Abstraction
NEW YORK—Jackson Pollock's controversy lives on almost 50 years after his death, evidenced by disputes over the authenticity of 32 recently discovered paintings. Alex Matter, owner of the works and son of Pollock's friend Herbert Matter, calls comments doubting the authenticity of the works "absurd." Matter points out that renowned Pollock expert Ellen Landau, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University, has verified the works as real, and has no agenda. "Ellen doesn't sell or buy Pollocks. She is the only unbiased person [for this task]," he says.
As for proof that the Pollocks are real, Landau cites "impeccable provenance, plausible circumstances of discovery and obvious technical and stylistic signature of the artist." She disagrees with published comments by renowned Pollock expert Eugene Thaw, retired art dealer and president emeritus of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, that the materials used are different than Pollock's other works. "Pollock actually experimented quite a bit with both unusual supports and pigments," Landau says. "Herbert Matter had these boards specially prepared. No one else could have had access to these. Several of them are in the drawers of Pollock's studio in the Springs." Thaw declined to comment, stating that he has said his peace on the subject.
On the 50th anniversary of Pollock's death in 2006, Landau will curate the traveling exhibition, "Pollock Matters," a combination of the previously unrecorded works by Jackson Pollock with works by Lee Krasner and Herbert and Mercedes Matter. The cities and museums have yet to be determined as of press time. Afterwards, he plans to donate some of the works to several museums. "There are museums that don't have Pollocks that should have Pollocks," he says. For more information, visit pollockexhibit.com.
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