Pollock Art Find Challenged

A yearlong scientific analysis by the Harvard University Art Museum of three paintings discovered in 2003 and considered to be possible art works by Jackson Pollock has found that some of the pigments used in the paints were not patented or commercially available until long after Pollock died in 1956, reports the New York Times' Randy Kennedy. The examination of the chemical makeup of the paintings—conducted with the consent of Alex Matter, who found the art among the possessions of his late father, Herbert, a close friend of Pollock's—does not conclusively end the debate, but the findings cast doubt on their authenticity. And they suggest that at the very least, the paintings, taken from a cache of thirty-two works found by Matter in a Long Island storage bin, may have been substantially added to or altered after Pollock’s death. Irish Art