Jackson Pollock is an American artist considered at the forefront of Abstract Expressionism. He is known for his particular style of painting, which involves lying a canvas of the floor and ‘drip’ painting over the surface to create highly detailed and colourful large-scale canvases. This way of making work is also known as ‘action painting’ which refers to the highly physical process. Pollock died in 1956 and has gained more and more recognition since his death. He is now considered one of the most influential artists of the early twentieth century. He has had major retrospectives at both MoMa in New York and the Tate in London.