What is Blue Poles?
Blue Poles is a large abstract painting by American artist Jackson Pollock, made in 1952. The National Gallery of Australia bought it in 1973 for 1.3 million dollars, causing a national controversy.
The painting, also called Number 11, 1952, is nearly five metres wide. Pollock created it by dripping and pouring paint onto canvas laid on the floor, then adding eight dark blue vertical lines that give the work its name.
In 1973, the Whitlam government approved the purchase for the planned National Gallery in Canberra. At the time, it was the highest price ever paid for a modern American painting, and many Australians thought it was a waste of public money.
From scandal to treasure
Newspapers mocked the purchase, and politicians debated it in Parliament. Some critics claimed that the painting had been made by drunks, a rumour that art historians reject.
Today Blue Poles is considered one of the most important works in the national collection, and its value is estimated to be many times the original price.
The painting is displayed at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and has been lent overseas only on rare occasions, including to the Royal Academy in London in 2016.
Did You Know?
Blue Poles has become a symbol of the Whitlam era's ambitions for Australian culture.