Plate for Untitled (1) and Untitled (2)
Jackson Pollock
American, 1912–1956
c. 1944
A copper printing plate worked with engraving and drypoint in which Jackson Pollock incises looping, biomorphic lines and textured masses intended to be printed as two untitled images.
You first notice the contrast between dense, cross‑hatched dark areas and fine, restless scratched lines that twist and overlap into ambiguous, almost topographic shapes, the warm brown metal making the marks feel immediate and intimate.
The plate captures Pollock’s 1940s experiments with intaglio techniques—moving his interest in automatic, gestural drawing into printmaking and prefiguring the energetic surfaces he would later pursue in his drip paintings.
Medium
Engraving and drypoint on copper plate
Dimensions
plate: 12 x 10 1/16" (30.5 x 25.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Lee Krasner Pollock
Accession
450.1969
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
