Guardians of the Secret by Jackson Pollock

Guardians of the Secret
1943
Abstract Expressionism
Oil on canvas
San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, USA

Often interpreted as an allegory for the emergence of unconscious impulses into conscious thought, ‘Guardians of the Secret’ represents a fusion of Pollock’s sources. Drawn from the imagery of African, Native American, and prehistoric art the painting also reflects touches of Miró and Picasso.

Jackson Pollock
Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, Action Painting, The Sublime in Art
Born: 28 January 1912, Wyoming, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 11 August 1956, New York, USA

Pollock’s reputation as a pre-eminent Abstract Expressionist artist has endured long after his death. In the late 1940s he began to produce the famous drip paintings that represent one of the most original bodies of work of the 20th century with suggestions of the life force of nature and evoking Man’s entrapment in the body, in anxiety, and in the modern world.