A Technical Analysis of Three Paintings Attributed to Jackson Pollock

摘要

Three paintings from a group of thirty-two attributed to Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) were examined at the Harvard Art Museums. Paint samples were examined using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX), laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (LDI-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (py-GCMS) and carbon-14 (C-14) dating. Carbon-14 dating detected no 'bomb' carbon from atmospheric atomic testing. All three paintings contained pigments and media available only after Pollock's death, including PR 254, PY151, and an emulsion copolymer of n-butyl methacrylate and iso-butyl methacrylate.