Jackson Pollock’s iconic painting, Blue poles, (1952) will today return to the walls of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra.
The approximately two metre by four metre artwork has been on display as a centrepiece of the Abstract Expressionism exhibition at the Royal Academy (RA), London, since September 2016. The seminal work was viewed by more than 3,000 people a day and captured the critical attention of the UK press. The RA used Blue poles as the hero image of the exhibition throughout London.
“We welcome this culturally and historically significant painting back to its home at the NGA,’ said Gerard Vaughan, NGA Director. “We are delighted to have shared our great masterpiece with a global audience in London, allowing hundreds of thousands of art lovers to experience its impact first-hand.”
Blue poles had not left Australia since 1998, when it was lent to the Jackson Pollock retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The often controversial painting was first purchased in 1973 under the approval of then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Blue poles is now the NGA’s principal destination work, and is now back on display on Level 2.
For more information, visit: www.nga.gov.au for details.
Image: Blue poles being re-installed at the National Gallery of Australia (supplied)