Jackson Pollock

February 27, 2012
Journalist and novelist Toynton (The Oriental Wife) lends her multifarious talent to the story of the turbulent life of iconic artist Jackson Pollock. A veritable authority on the lives of Pollock and Lee Krasner, few are better suited to pen such a quotable and inspired contemporary portrait, and Toynton's ability to combine sweeping references with didactic narrative separates this account from the stacks of literature on Pollock. Following a rough upbringing and early alcohol-fuelled exploits, Pollock relocated to New York, where his eminent "drip" took shape (though "he also splattered, splashed, and hurled"). The post-war avant-garde in Americaâpatriotic but disenchantedâchose to express their "interior mental states" in a more abstract rather than "socially conscious" medium. With mixed results and divided critical opinion, the "dangerous and sexy" Pollock finally broke through at the 1943 "Art of This Century" show. His spontaneous production allowed Pollock to pave the way for contemporaries like de Kooning, Kline, and Rothko; though commercial success for Pollock was fleeting and fame did him no favors. Toynton psychologically analyzes Pollock's enigmatic personaâhe was shy when sober, brash and egotistically articulate when drunkâand the nurturing role that Krasner came to fill in his life, even after he turned into the Greenwich Village idiot. Toynton touches on his demise, but justifiably applies greater focus to Pollock's "posthumous fame" brought about by Krasner's philanthropy and perspicacity and which has cemented his legacy. B&W photos.

March 1, 2012

Novelist and freelance writer Toynton's (Modern Art) problematic overview of the life of Jackson Pollock is reflective neither of his life nor of his art. Pollock's story has been told before, most notably in the famous 1949 Life magazine article that shot the artist to fame and Ed Harris's 2000 biographical film Pollock. No art historian, Toynton bases her research primarily on information supplied by the artist's wife, Lee Krasner, though most of her facts appear sound. However, the concluding chapter shocked this reviewer. There, Toynton goes on a rampage against Pollock's current relevance that is unworthy of either the author or the artist. She claims "suffering [is now] out of fashion" and suggests that Pollock is both effete and politically suspect, partly because the CIA-funded, anti-Soviet Congress for Cultural Freedom organized posthumous exhibitions of his work to promote American abstract expressionism and devalue the socialist realism promoted by the Soviet Union. VERDICT Neither an accurate nor a well-researched picture of Pollock's work, this myth-boosting and reputation-busting book adds nothing to current scholarship and is not recommended.--Ellen Bates, New York

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