Jackson Pollock

Guston was a high-school classmate. He studied under Benton, watched Orozco (an influence) paint with him, and was introduced to liquid-paint use by Siquieros. Matta’s promotion of psychic automatism was also influential. Krasner married him; Motherwell, Creeley and Kline were all friends; De Kooning, a drinking partner, loved his laconic way of telling Cedar Bar newcomers to fuck off. Tony Smith collaborated drunkenly in getting one of his best-known paintings started, though Newman denied adding in the Blue Poles of its title. Hofmann asked if he worked from nature: Pollock riposted that he was nature.