December 9th is the last day to see disputed Pollocks at BC
December 9th is the last day to see an exhibit of disputed Jackson Pollocks at Boston College's McMullen Museum.
"Ellen G. Landau, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland and one of the world’s most respected Pollock scholars, said
in 2005 that she believed the works were authentic. She agreed to
conduct scholarly research for an exhibition of the paintings that
opened on Sept. 1 and continues through Dec. 9 at the McMullen Museum
of Art at Boston College.
(The show focuses largely on the personal and artistic relationship
between Pollock and Herbert Matter, who was a photographer and graphic
designer.)
But after Dr. Landau’s role in supporting the works was announced in 2005, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, which had declined to enter into authentication disputes for almost a decade, became involved. It enlisted Eugene V. Thaw, a veteran art dealer, and Francis V. O’Connor, an art historian and author of the four-volume catalogue raisonné, or complete listing, of Pollock’s work.
Both scholars disagreed strongly with Dr. Landau, with whom they had previously served on a board that examined paintings to determine whether they were genuine Pollocks."
A scientist who examined them recently came out against their authenticity in the latest development in a very interesting case.
"At least one was painted on a board that was not produced earlier than the late 1970s or early ’80s, said the scientist, James Martin, in a lecture last night sponsored by the International Foundation for Art Research in Manhattan.
Mr. Martin was commissioned to examine the paintings in 2005 by their owner, Alex Matter, the son of Herbert and Mercedes Matter, artists who were friends of Pollock’s. Mr. Matter has said he found the paintings, made in Pollock’s signature drip style, in 2002 or 2003 in a Long Island storage container that had belonged to his father.
Although Mr. Martin, who is based in Williamstown, Mass., completed the analysis last fall, he has said he did not release it earlier because Mr. Matter’s lawyer told him he would face a lawsuit if he did so. It is unclear why he chose to go public now."
