4
●
JACKSON POLLOCK
Untitled
.
Etching and drypoint on white wove Italia paper, 1944-45. 302x230 mm; 11
7
/
8
x9 inches,
full margins. Numbered 31/50 in pencil, lower right. Printed by Emiliano Sorini, New
York, with the blind stamp lower left, in 1967. Published by the Pollock Estate, with the
blind stamp lower left. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, important etching.
Following is an account written by the printmaker Gabor Peterdi, who was entrusted with
printing Pollock’s surviving intaglio plates, “Shortly after Pollock’s death, during the time
when the MoMA was organizing the Pollock retrospective, I received a call fromWilliam
Lieberman. He told me, they had discovered in Pollock’s estate four plates in rather
neglected condition—corroded, dirty, etc.—and they wanted to find out if they could be
salvaged. Lieberman asked me whether I were willing to undertake this
job.AsLieberman
and I had a longstanding professional association, and as I also felt strongly that Pollock’s
work should be saved if possible, I consented to try.
The four plates were in terrible condition, full of corrosion, with most of the drypoint
flattened out. Further, the four plates contained six images, as two of the plates had images
on both sides. This would create additional problems with printing. I cleaned the plates
and reworked the drypoint on all six images. As I knew Pollock personally and worked
together with him at Hayter’s Atelier 17, I knew very well his own way of working so the
restoration was no problem.
Then I printed up some proofs (before steelfacing) of all the images and gave one set to
the MoMA. At this time, I advised the museum that, after steelfacing, four of the images
were sound enough to be printed in editions. The other two were weak, underetched
images with too much corrosion. So, you could say it was I who decided which images
to print, based entirely on what was feasible. All this (cleaning, restoration, printing of
proofs) was done by me in my studio in Rowayton, Connecticut.
I also recommended [Emiliano] Sorini to do the printing of the editions. Sorini had
printed some of my own plates for me and, at that time, was teaching under my
supervision in the Yale University printmaking workshop. Sorini made the prints in his
own studio. I do not know who did the steelfacing. I had nothing to do with the choice
of paper,” (Gabor Peterdi, letter written March 13, 1987).
Pollock’s (1912-1956) NewYork apartment was located opposite of Atelier 17 on East 8th
Street and was frequented by other Abstract Expressionists such asWilliam Baziotes and Robert
Motherwell. It was here that Hayter instructed Pollock in the technique of drypoint and etching
in the autumn of 1944. (Emmerling,
Jackson Pollock: 1912-1952
, p. 60). Pollock tested his method
of building up an image with interlocking lines and brushstrokes, for which he would become
famous, through his experimentation with etching. He reworked many of his etchings with
ink and gouache; and in most cases, professionally printed impressions of his plates were not
taken until after his death. O’Connor/Thaw 1081.
[20,000/30,000]